


You Stopped Me In My Tracks And Put Me Right In My Place

by LaynaVile



Series: SpideyPool Soulmates AU [2]
Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Mutant, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blow Jobs, Bottom!Wade Wilson, Consensual Underage Sex, Daddy Kink, Hair-pulling, Hand Jobs, I mixed characters from old and new Spidey movies, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Minor Character Death, No Incest, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Nothing Really Detailed or Gory though, Peter is not Spider-Man, Scenting, Soulmarks, Top!Peter Parker, Wade is Deadpool, Wade is hot, Wade never had cancer, Wade's birthday sex took me about 3million years to write, mentions of physical violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:27:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24055144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaynaVile/pseuds/LaynaVile
Summary: Everyone has a soulmate. Someone to call their own. Someone with matching marks on their skin, who will love you forever, right? That's how it was supposed to go, but not for Wade Wilson. Each birthday passed with no soulmark, each time he became less and less hopeful. Until one hot day in August when the small black smudge appeared on his wrist.--Full story for "Oh, I say I do, but I don't"--
Relationships: Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Series: SpideyPool Soulmates AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735378
Comments: 8
Kudos: 267





	You Stopped Me In My Tracks And Put Me Right In My Place

**Author's Note:**

> This took me way longer than it should have to write and I really, really dislike the ending. I was fixating on writing a certain scene and in that, I lost sight of where I wanted to go. I hope you still enjoy the story. I had so much planned, I wanted to explore the meanings of their soulmarks, I wanted to show more of their life, but I feel like I need to post this now. If I continue to work on it, in its current state I'm going to end up going back and deleting so much of it and I don't want to do that. Maybe someday I'll write those parts that I wanted to, but as of now, I need to be "done" with this.  
> All mistakes are my own, I've re-read this about 30 times and was still finding stuff I'd missed, not beta-read, nothing of mine is, sorry. If something sticks out too badly, please tell me, politely, and I'll try to fix it. Same as if you think something needs to be tagged differently, or if a tag needs to be added/removed, please, please let me know.  
> Title from Halsey - Finally//beautiful stranger.

A child is born with their soul mark(s) if their mate is already born, if not the mark(s) will appear once their mate is born. Before your mark(s) appear you are called a markless. Once the mark(s) appears you are then known as mated.

Wade had heard it at least a zillion times growing up, he was born a markless and markless were forced to take an extra "health" class, to learn about why the mark(s) appeared and how to find your mate, in school until their mark(s) appeared. Those born mated were born with the knowledge of how to find their mate, but their body naturally suppressed the instincts. No one is really sure why their bodies naturally suppress it though. The markless learned about their instincts and the overwhelming feelings that came with their mark(s), so they knew how to handle them when the time came. After spending time with your mate both start to feel and smell each other's emotions, and use their own to affect their mate.

Soul marks can evolve as the mates age or new marks can appear, but once the mark is there it will never go away. Once your soulmate dies you will never get another mark, but they will not disappear.

Approximately seventy percent of the population was born with their soul mark(s) or had theirs appear by age two. Twenty nine percent were born markless but had their mark(s) appear by age thirteen. The other one percent were born markless and had their marks appear by age twenty. Everyone had their mark(s) by the time they turned twenty.

Everyone except Wade. His thirteenth birthday came and went and no mark appeared. He hoped every day that his mark would appear.

\--

Wade's twentieth birthday was quickly approaching, three months to go. Wade had stopped hoping for a soul mark when he turned seventeen. He had a few more years that it could show up, but if it was going to happen, it would've happened by then. At least that's what his father told him, in a slurred voice as he beat the shit out Wade each night. Wade's mother had died giving birth to him, he caused his father to lose his soulmate and the anger his father had at the loss was often directed at Wade.

Wade was broken. Destined to never have a mate.

\--

It was a hot August afternoon when Wade noticed the small black spot on his inner left wrist. Upon closer inspection he discovered the small black spot was something resembling a spiderling.

Wade doesn't believe the mark is real, doesn't believe that he actually has a soulmate. He's terrified that the mark isn't real or that it will disappear. He knows that once it's there it won't go away, but he's afraid. He's wanted this for so long. He's beyond excited and happy that he finally has a soul mark, but then the realization hits him, his soul mark only appeared because his soul mate was finally born. His soul mate is twenty years younger than him.

The age difference wasn't impossible in soul mates, but was definitely rare and improbable.

Fuck, of course he was part of that fucked up one percent. While he was upset that he was part of that fucked up one percent, he was glad that he actually was part of any percentages. And that he wasn't broken.

His mate has the same spiderling mark, mirroring Wade's. His mate's mark would be on his inner right wrist. The spiderling must look huge on the small infant's wrist. It looked tiny on Wade.

Within the first twenty four hours of his mark appearing he starts to feel the pull. The pull is an instinctual need to find his mate. Scientists have tried to explain how the pull works, none have been successful. The pull works sort of like.. a GPS system. The route to his mate is ever changing in his mind as his mate moves, from hospital to home and everywhere in between. Those born mated nurtally had control over the pull, their biological need to follow the pull was suppressed, they didn't wander trying to find their mate. Markless who's mate came later had less control, they had to be taught how to control their impulses. How to suppress the pull.

Wade hated it. He'd been waiting for this his entire life and now that his mate was born he wanted nothing more than to follow the pull. Being that he was so much older than his mate he had to wait. There were laws in place that once a markless turned thirteen, if their mark hadn't appeared yet, that once their mark(s) did appear they were strictly prohibited from seeking their mate until their mate turned thirteen. And even then their relationship had to remain platonic until their mate turned eighteen.

Wade's heart sank at the thought, by the time his mate turned thirteen he'd be thirty three. Thirty eight when his mate was finally eighteen. He couldn't do that to his mate. He couldn't force a child to be with him when he was old enough to be their father.

Maybe Wade was broken.

Wade didn't cry often, hadn't truly cried in years. But that night he cried himself to sleep.

\--

Wade was twenty three when his second soul mark appeared, two small black katanas crossed in an "x" on the upper right side of his chest, near his collarbone. His spiderling has also increased in size, to the point where you can actually recognize it as a spider from farther away.

He briefly wonders what his mate's parents thought of the soul marks on their toddler. Wade wondered if the marks were..so dark because he was older than his mate. He wondered if his mate's parents questioned why their child had a spider and katanas as soul marks.

Wade knew why the katanas were there, knew what they represented. This kid, his mate, was doomed to have Wade as a soulmate.

\--

When Wade is twenty six he sees a story on the news, over and over about a family being killed, leaving their young son alone. Something about the story pulls at Wade's heart. He dismisses it as sympathy for a kid who lost his parents. Wade had never known his mother and he wished he hadn't known his father--he understood the pain the kid must feel.

\--

Wade's third soul mark appeared on his soulmate's ninth birthday, it's the first soul mark that's in color, it shocks Wade when he sees it. Colorful soul marks are rare, very rare. as far as Wade knows less than one percent of the population will have a colorful soul mark. A small hourglass shape, rich blue and deep black, on the inside of his right bicep. He ponders the meaning of the hourglass and the coloration for a long time.

\--

Wade spends his nights with his friend Weasel, drinking to numb the pain of his soulmate being so young.

For the next three years no new marks appear, Wade is always disappointed when nothing new appears. He hooks up with as many women and men as he can, trying to forget about his underage soulmate. At first he feels bad for essentially cheating, not only on his mate but his partner's mates as well. The guilt disappears after a few months, the pleasure and alcohol help to block it out.

He doesn't have a drinking problem, honestly. Well maybe, but it's really not a problem. He still goes to work every day, he functions fine. It's the nights that are bad. He doesn't sleep often, and when he does his dreams are filled with a shadowy figure, he can never truly see the person. Can't tell if the figure is male or female, but he can see the spiderling on their wrist. More than once he wakes up panting and rutting against his mattress. He feels like a pervert, lusting after someone so much younger than he is, someone he knows nothing about. On those nights especially he drinks until he passes out.

\--

His soulmate's thirteenth birthday is the following day, Wade's instincts are screaming at him to follow the pull, to find his mate.

He ignores the pull, gets completely trashed and sleeps with a boy who's barely eighteen. Wade wasn't trashed enough to not check the kid's ID first, he wasn't going to prison for having sex with a minor. Wade isn't into fucking children.

The kid tries to call him multiple times to hook up again, or maybe the kid has a crush, telling him that he "doesn't care about soulmates."

Wade wishes he didn't care about soulmates. But all he can think about is how his mate is now thirteen. Wade can find them, see their face for the first time, get to know them, but he doesn't. He doesn't want to force the kid into a friendship with a thirty three year old man.

\--

Wade is thirty five when his fourth soul mark appears, no color this time, but it still shocks the hell out of him. The mark appears on the juncture of his hip and pelvis. Wade finds it odd, the mark being in such an intimate spot. The mark is a simple circle, thick black outline, empty middle space. The other soul marks are more substantial, this is just a circle. The others seem to have meaning, but this is just an empty circle… why a circle and why is it empty?

More often than not Wade finds himself stroking the mark with the fingers of his left hand as he jerks his cock with his right hand. He somehow feels connected to his, now fifteen year old, mate when he touches the small circle. He wonders if his mate feels the same way, if his mate masturbates and touches their identical circle.

\--

Just after the new year the intensity of the pull shifts, it's harder for Wade to ignore. He’s heard of people ignoring the pull for so long that they get sick, but he never expected this. He’s nauseous, his head throbs constantly, and sleep is impossible. His joints ache and something deep inside him hurts, it's not something physical but it's excruciating.

Something about the pull seems different, desperate even.

Wade endures for three days before breaking, he follows the pull. Not exactly knowing where he’s going. The pull guides him, he supposes it would’ve been simpler to drive, but Wade walks. And walks, and walks and walks, and eventually ends up in Queens.

The borough isn’t entirely unfamiliar to him, he’d had a couple friends when he was in elementary school who lived in Queens. He’d been in this particular neighborhood a few times all those years ago.

Wade finds himself outside of an apartment building, unsure of what to do. He knows where to go, the pull still guiding him. But he’s afraid, his mate is in this building. He wants nothing more than to go in and find them. His mate is fifteen years old, Wade could be their father, the thought makes him shudder. He’s not like that, he doesn’t have a thing for kids. But this, this is his soulmate, it’s different.

He has to do this, has to find his mate. Even if the kid never wants anything to do with him, he has to know who they are.

The door is secured, there is a keypad for those who live in the building to enter, and a comms system, for guests to be buzzed into the building. Just because the pull is guiding him doesn’t mean he knows which apartment his mate lives in from out here. He can’t just press buttons until someone lets him in or he guesses the correct number sequence.

He drops down onto the steps, hoping that maybe someone who lives there will show up and he can explain to them his situation and they’ll let him in.

Or maybe they’ll call him a creep and call the police. He is a thirty five year old man looking for a teenager.

The sun is setting when Wade feels the pull shift, his mate is moving. He stands and watches the door, waiting for his mate to come out.

No one ever comes near the door, but he can feel the pull trying to guide him toward his mate. He wonders if maybe there is another entrance that his mate used.

He follows the pull, feet seeming to move before he agrees to it.

The alley behind the building is empty, seemingly so. But that’s where the pull took him, his instincts led him there for a reason. His mate is there, somewhere.

Wade scans the area, he doesn’t see anyone, he shakes his head. Maybe his instincts are wrong. Maybe denying the pull for so long broke it somehow. Maybe Wade is broken and the pull never worked right. Maybe he'll be sick and lost for the rest of his life.

He hears a noise above him, head snapping up, he sees a small kid on the fire escape.

“Hey.”

The kid stays silent and unmoving, almost as if they think if they stay still enough they'll become invisible.

Wade can’t see the kids face, their hood is pulled up over their head and down their face as far as it will go, but they’re definitely male, and very small. Small enough that Wade honestly questions if this kid could be his mate, because he seems too young.

“Come down here, kid.”

The boy shakes his head.

“Come on, I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to ask you something.”

Wade wants to see if the kid has the same soul marks he has. Wade needs to see.

“No, I’m not going with you.” The boy's voice is soft but filled with anger, and maybe fear.

Fuck. Wade doesn’t want the kid to be afraid of him, especially not if he is Wade’s mate. He has to be Wade’s mate, the pull brought him here.

“Never said you had to go anywhere with me. I just wanna talk.”

“That’s what the last guy from CPS said.” The boy starts to climb up the fire escape.

CPS? Why does the kid think Wade’s from CPS?

“What? No. Wait. I’m not from CPS.”

The boy freezes, “You expect me to believe you? I’m not stupid.”

“Never said you were stupid, kid. Come on, please.”

The boy moves back to where he originally was, this time sitting, legs hanging through the iron bars of the fire escape.

“I'm not coming down. But, what do you want to talk about?” Wade can hear the curiosity in the boy’s tone.

“I’m looking for someone.”

The kid’s head tilts to the side, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Uh, I… you got soul marks, kid?”

“What’s it to you?”

If this kid is his soul mate, he was born mated, he doesn’t feel the pull the same way Wade does. Maybe he doesn’t realize what it even is. Mated never had to take extra classes, they never learned about the marks the same was markless did. It was expected that they would instinctively know how to handle the pull and what it all meant once their body decided it was time to stop suppressing everything. Wade had to be taught all of that.

“You have a spider?”

No response.

“Katanas?”

Silence still.

“Black circle?” Wade purposely skips the blue hourglass, it’s especially unique.

The kid stands, Wade thinks he’s going to bolt, and climbs down the fire escape, dropping onto the pavement a few feet in front of Wade.

“How the hell do you know what my marks are?”

Wade’s heart rate spikes.

“You don’t feel it?”

“Feel what? Dude, you’re old enough to be my dad.”

Wade expected something like that, but he didn’t know it would hurt so bad.

“The pull?”

“I was born with my marks, I don’t feel that.”

“You can, but you naturally suppress it. Eventually your body will stop suppressing it and you'll feel it.”

Wade wonders how the kid doesn’t know this stuff. Even mated were taught the basics.

“I have one more mark, if you’re my mate then what is it?”

“Blue hourglass.”

“How? You’re like.. old.”

“I’m thirty five.”

“I’m fifteen.”

“My first mark appeared three months before my twentieth birthday.”

“When is that?”

“November twenty second.”

“No, I meant when is my birthday?”

“August tenth.”

“How is this even possible?”

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you this stuff?”

“Not really, no. I mean my parents died before I was really old enough to learn. My aunt and uncle never talked about it.”

“School?”

“My uncle never wanted me in those classes. He never said why, but..”

Wade had never heard of someone not letting their child attend basic “health” classes. Maybe the boy's uncle somehow knew Wade was so much older, maybe he didn't want the kid finding out how to find Wade.

“Everyone gets their mark by the time they turn twenty. Typically markless get their mark by thirteen, only a small percentage don’t. I was part of that small percentage.”

“So now I finally know who my soulmate is, and he’s old enough to be my dad.” The kid isn’t really talking to him, more talking to himself.

“I’m Wade.”

“Uh, I'm.." He hesitates, "My name's Peter.”

“I won’t, ya know force you into anything.”

“Prison doesn’t sound like fun?”

Wade wonders if the kid thinks he’s funny, Wade doesn’t find it funny. He would never do something like that.

“Listen, Peter, I promise you. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want. If you never want..”

“You’re really my soulmate?” Peter interrupts.

Wade pulls the sleeve of his winter coat and hoodie up, showing Peter the spiderling, that’s not really small enough to be called a spiderling anymore even on Wade’s wrist, but that's what it started as so that's what Wade calls it.

Peter hesitates then pulls his own sleeve up, showing Wade his matching spider.

“Wow.”

“Peter?”

“What, Wade?"

Fuck, Wade loves the way his name sounds coming out of the kid’s mouth.

“Wanna tell me why you thought I was from CPS?”

Peter pulls his hood down over his face more, Wade can see the material pulling up from around Peter's waist as he tries to cover his face. Wade still hasn’t truly seen what his mate looks like and something deep inside him aches, but if Peter doesn't want him to see then he won't try.

“No.”

“I want to help you.”

Peter shakes his head.

“Please.”

Wade can see the fear, even if he can’t see the kid's expression. Wade knows what fear looks like; the way his shoulders are hunched, head facing downward, hands in his hoodie pocket.

“They want to take me away.” Peter's voice is quiet, words spoken toward the concrete.

“Why would they want to do that?”

Peter shakes his head again.

"Peter, please. I want to help. I know you don't know me, but I'm your mate, I want to protect you, help you. I can't do that if you won't talk to me."

Peter's silent for a long time, Wade waits, not sure what else he can really say.

"My uncle, Ben, was killed a few weeks ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Wade pauses, to see if Peter is going to say anything else. When he doesn't speak Wade does, "Is that why they want to take you away? What about your aunt, you mentioned her before?"

"Someone broke into our apartment, I was with my friend, Ned. The man that broke in shot my uncle, he bled out before the paramedics could get there." Wade can see the tears on Peter's cheeks despite the hood and the darkness of the alley. Peter swallows audibly. "My..my.." Peter's voice trembles as he speaks.

Wade wants to comfort the boy, hold him in his arms and tell him everything is going to be okay.

"My aunt, May, was just getting home and the man.. he was still in the apartment, he shot her too."

"Did she?" Wade questions when Peter stops speaking.

"No."

"That's good."

"No, it's not. She's in a coma. They don't know when she's going to wake up, if she's going to wake up."

"Peter, I'm so sorry."

"They want to take me away because I'm fifteen, I can't live alone. I don't even want to be in our apartment, the landlord pulled the carpeting up but there's still blood stains. It's better than being on the street, at least. But, I don't have the money to pay the rent so even if I wanted to stay, it wouldn't be for much longer." Peter rambles on, tears still steadily sliding down his cheeks.

"You can't stay here alone, and I'm not going to let you live on the street."

"I can't go with them. Who knows where I'll end up."

"Foster care isn't ideal, but it's not bad."

"As if you would know."

"No, I don't know, but Peter, you're fifteen. You can't be alone. Especially not now."

"Well what am I supposed to do? I don't wanna get shipped off somewhere."

Wade speaks before he thinks, "You can stay with me."

"What?"

"Uh... I mean... fuck... there's laws against it... but as long as it's platonic... I could..."

"What?"

"I want to keep you safe, Peter. I can't let you stay here, alone. If you won't go with CPS, to a foster home..."

"How would that even work? You're my soulmate... you can't be my soulmate and my parent."

"I wouldn't be your parent, I don't want to be your parent. I just want to help you. I legally cannot do anything other than be your friend until you turn eighteen either, soulmate or not."

"How can I stay with you? Won't they still come for me? Why do you want to help me?"

"I told you Peter, you're my mate, instinct tells me to protect you, help you, take care of you. I want to do this. I'm not really sure how it will work, there's laws for a reason. I'll figure it out."

"So it's strictly biological?"

"Yes, no. I don't know.. I don't even know your full name, kid. But, I feel like I know you, and on some level, I do."

"What if I say no?"

"Are you going to say no?"

"I don't know. I mean, I was taught 'stranger danger' when I was like three. But you don't feel like a stranger.. but I don't feel what you do, I don't feel the pull that you mentioned or anything really."

"I told you, you naturally suppress it. But you feeling like I'm not a stranger is part of this.. part of our soul bond. Like I said on some level I feel like I already know you, which I do, through the bond. It's a bunch of scientific bullshit, but it's real."

"Wade?"

"Peter?"

"I don't want to say no..."

"But?"

"But, I'm afraid to say yes."

"It's Friday, come to my place tonight, think about it... see if you think staying with me is a plausible option. Peter, it's getting cold, you can't stay out here and I don't want you going back in there."

Peter shivers at the mention of the temperature. In the back of his mind, Wade worries that Peter doesn't have a winter coat on, only a thin black hoodie. New York winter's get cold.

"I have to get some stuff out of the apartment first, if I'm going to come with you."

"Let me come in with you. Help you get your things." Wade wants to get out of the cold, even for a few minutes.

Peter nods and motions for Wade to follow him. Peter starts climbing the fire escape.

"Uh, the front door?"

"No. Gotta go this way. CPS will know if I use my access code, they'll come here looking for me... again."

Wade sighs before following Peter up the icy fire escape.

They climb in through the kitchen window, before Wade can actually look at his surroundings Peter is pushing him through an open door, the state of the room tells Wade that it's definitely Peter's room.

Peter grabs a duffle bag and starts shoving a few things inside, mostly clothes, a laptop and it's charger are the last few things Peter puts into the bag.

"I have to grab my tooth brush, I'll be right back. Stay here."

Wade waits, looking around the room, there room is... a mess, honestly. Wade wonders if Peter's room is always a mess or if the stress of the last few weeks has caused the mess? Wade is brought out of his thoughts when Peter reenters the room.

"Let's go."

They exit the apartment the same way they came in. Dropping down onto the pavement Wade realizes he walked here. He can't have Peter walk all the way home with him.

"Shit."

"What's wrong? Changing your mind?"

"No, but I was kinda out of it when I came here.. I followed my instincts to get here.. I walked.."

"Oh."

"We can try to catch a cab.."

"Guess so.."

\--

The ride is relatively quiet and comfortable albeit long. It costs a small fortune but Peter's worth it so Wade pays happily. He would've liked Dopinder to be the one driving, but he's still in jail for the little mishap with Bandhu.

Wade's place isn't the nicest... or the most expensive... he has quite a lot of money, his job pays exceptionally well, but he's never felt the need for a nice place. Maybe now he does though. Maybe he wants a better place for his mate, for Peter.

"So, uh... it's kinda a studio situation... you can have the bed... I'll crash on the couch." Wade should've thought this through, maybe he should've taken Peter to a hotel. Wade pulls his coat off and hangs it up as he speaks.

"It's your place, Wade, I can sleep on the couch."

"Oh, no. I insist."

Peter nods, Wade's happy the kid decided not to argue. Peter sets his bag onto the bed then stands awkwardly.

"You can explore the place if you want. There's not much to it as you can see but you don't have to just stand there."

Peter doesn't say anything, he nods but stays in the same spot. Wade notices the kid still has his hoodie on, he briefly wonders if Peter is cold or if it's a security thing. His hood is still pulled down, Wade hasn't seen his face properly yet.

"Pizza or chinese?"

"What?"

"Which would you rather have? I could cook, but it's getting late."

"Oh.. uh.. chinese if that's okay?"

Wade grabs the chinese takeout menu from the side of the fridge and hands it to Peter, "Pick something out and I'll order it."

Peter makes his decision, and Wade orders the food. His stomach is growling as he speaks to the lady on the phone. Wade hadn't eaten much the last few days, too nauseous to try.

"Now that, that's ordered. Would you like to… uh watch a movie?" Wade's unsure of what to do around Peter. He's never been the nervous type, but something about being so close to his mate, his emotionally hurt underage mate, is making him nervous.

"If you want to."

"Pick out a movie, kid." Wade motions to the shelves full of dvd cases. "If you don't see anything you like I've got cable.. I'm sure there is something on that you like."

Peter walks over and starts looking through the movies.

A few minutes later they're watching an action film that Wade has seen a million times. The food arrives shortly after, they eat on the couch while the movie plays.

Neither speak during, but as the credits roll Peter says, "I never said thank you, so.. thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, baby boy." The words are out of his mouth before Wade realizes it. "Shit. I didn't mean to say.. that."

Peter smiles softly, Wade wishes he could see it properly, "It's okay, Wade."

"No, I shouldn't have said that.. called you that. It was inappropriate."

"Oh." Peter sounds.. sad.. disappointed maybe.

Why would he sound disappointed? He doesn't even know Wade, not yet. He's only fifteen he can't be thinking of Wade that way, not yet. But maybe the bond was strong enough.. they had a colorful soul mark, that meant the bond was strong, stronger than most.

Wade distracts himself by picking up their mess, empty takeout containers, silverware and cups.

"It's late, kid.. maybe you should, uh, head to bed."

"Maybe, yeah." Peter sounds unsure.

"If you'd like to, you can shower first. A shower before bed usually helps me sleep."

"Oh, yeah, thanks for offering, but I like to shower in the morning. It helps me wake up."

Wade nods, "Whenever you want is fine."

Wade keeps himself busy, not knowing how to act, by filling the sink with soap and hot water. There's only a few dishes, the cups they'd both used, a few pieces of silverware and the pan Wade had used three days ago to make his dinner. Food that he'd only taken a few bites of before tossing in the trash.

Peter doesn't say anything else but Wade hears him going through his duffle bag, and the click of the bathroom door shutting and locking.

Wade finishes the dishes quickly, he walks to his dresser and pulls out some sweats and a t-shirt. He's never been the type to wear actual pajamas. Although he did have a pair of Adventure Time fleece pajama pants that were his favorite, he didn't want to freak the kid out by wearing cartoon covered pants on the first night.

Peter comes out of the bathroom no more than ten minutes later, in flannel pajama pants, black hoodie still on with the hood still pulled down over his face. It's definitely a security thing then, Wade thinks.

"Would you like me to, uh, change the sheets? I should probably change them. I just did a few days ago and I haven't slept in the bed since, but yeah new sheets would be a good idea." Wade's rambling, his nerves are amped up to like a thousand. He's never been like this.

"It's okay. You don't have to change the sheets.. unless you've been like.. doing hookers in your bed."

Wade can't stop the snort of laughter, "No, no hookers. Scouts honor."

Peter laughs, the sound is so beautiful, Wade wants to make him laugh all the time.

"You a boy scout, Wade?"

Wade shakes his head, "Nah, I got kicked out.. what can I say the troop leader was hot.. I might have gotten him kicked out too." So Wade hadn't ever actually been in scouts, but the local troop leader was hot and Wade may have given him head once or twice, but they never got caught. And that was back when Wade was just starting to give up hope of ever having a mate… he was a desperately horny, sad teenager--good decision making was not something he did.

Peter laughs again. "You're not serious, are you?"

"The world may never know, Petey-pie." Wade laughs, "No, I never was a scout."

"Was the troop leader hot though?" Wade can hear the amusement and curiosity in Peter's voice.

"Yeah, he was. Enough talking about hot guys, it's almost one am... you need to go to sleep."

"I'm not a baby, Wade."

"You still need rest."

Peter grumbles but climbs into Wade's bed. Something deep inside Wade thrums at the sight. He never wants his mate, his Peter, to leave his bed. He wants the boy to smell like him so everyone will know who he belongs to.

Fuck, Wade can't be having thoughts like this. Peter is fifteen years old. How the fuck is Wade going to be able to control himself for close to three years? Maybe this hadn't been Wade's best idea. Bringing his underage mate into his home. Wade's not a pedophile, he's never looked at a child. But Peter is different. Peter is his mate. But, Peter is also a child, in the eyes of the law he is a child until he turns eighteen. Wade just has to keep reminding himself that.

"Ba.. uh Peter?" Fucking shit, fuckity fuck, he'd just almost called Peter, baby boy again.

"Hmm?" Peter sounds sleepy.

"Do you like pancakes? I'll make some for breakfast."

"Mmhm."

Wade smiles, "Goodnight, Peter."

Wade showers and brushes his teeth before flopping down onto the couch. Wade picks up his phone and starts going through the for sale listings, it's time for a change in scenery.

Wade doesn't care about the cost of the place, he's got more than enough money and Peter deserves the best.

Wade finds a few nice places, large enough to give them both their own space but small enough to be cozy. He'll call his real estate agent in the morning to set up a showing of each one.

Wade finally falls asleep around three am, the sound of Peter's soft breathing acting as white noise.

\--

Wade wakes up around seven, he's still exhausted but cannot sleep any longer. He can still hear Peter's soft breathing. Wade doesn't want to wake the kid up early, it's the weekend and he probably hasn't been sleeping well lately. Wade quietly gets up and goes to the bathroom. Wade brushes his teeth, pulls a sweatshirt over his head and slides his feet into his shoes. He unplugs his phone and picks it up off the coffee table, his real estate agent probably isn't in her office just yet, but Wade heads out to the terrace to call her anyway. He'll leave a message.

The message he leaves is brief and straightforward. He gives her the addresses and tells her to call him back as soon as she has the times set up. Snow is starting to fall when he heads back inside. Wade sits on the couch and gets lost in his head, his phone vibrates around eight thirty. He picks it up expecting it to be his real estate agent, it's not.

"Hold on." Wade's voice is quiet but his tone is harsh.

Wade steps into the bathroom, hoping Peter doesn't wake up while he's inside.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me before noon during the weekend?"

"It's urgent."

"Urgent can suck my dick. I told you the next time it happened, I'd skin you alive."

"I've got a job for you."

"And it couldn't wait?"

"They want it done today."

"Get someone else to do it, I'm busy."

"Busy? Wade this is important."

"What part of busy do you not understand, Weas?"

"It's Vanessa."

"Vanessa?"

"She's the client, Wade."

"Why the hell do you think I'm gonna do this? Not 'Ness. No fucking way."

"You've gotta do it. She's paying paying fucking fortune."

"No fucking way. And do you really think I need more fucking money?"

"Since when do you turn down money or a job?"

"Since I'm fucking busy and it's Vanessa."

"Wade,"

"Goodbye, Weasel. Call me before noon again and you won't like what happens." Wade hangs up before Weasel can say anything else.

He debates turning the phone off, not wanting Weasel to call back, but he's still waiting for his real estate agent to call back.

Wade shoves his phone into his sweatshirt pocket and decides fuck it, Peter can go back to sleep after breakfast if he's still tired, Wade's making pancakes now.

It takes him less than ten minutes to get the batter mixed up, none of that boxed shit in his house. He's made pancakes enough that the mess is minimal.

By the time the fourth pancake hits the pan Wade hears Peter stirring in the bed.

Wade doesn't say anything just keeps making pancakes until all the batter is gone. He's not sure if Peter is a morning person and he'd rather not have a grouchy sleepy teen yelling at him right now.

"You're really making pancakes?" Peter's voice is rough and thick with sleep.

"Of course I am, Petey-pie. No boxed shit here and real maple syrup."

Wade turns towards Peter as he speaks, the kid's hood has fallen down as he slept and wow is he gorgeous. Soft brown hair, big round eyes, freckles all over the place. Wade's in love. He turns away quickly, Peter hadn't wanted Wade to see his face the night before, Wade wasn't going to make Peter uncomfortable by invading the kid's privacy and staring.

"It's okay, you can look if you wanna."

Wade shakes his head, not turning back around. "You want to shower first or eat first? Pancakes are best when they first come out of the pan, but they're still edible when reheated."

"It's really okay though, you don't have to… ya know not look at me. I slept in your bed for fucks sake. I think it's okay if you see me."

"I'm trying to not make you uncomfortable."

Peter huffs but doesn't respond to that particular statement, "I guess I'll eat first.. but, uh, Wade?"

"What's up?"

"You didn't put any bananas in them, did you?"

"Definitely not. I've never liked those slimy, stinky, nasty things. You don't like them?"

"Uh, well no… I'm allergic."

Wade files that piece of information into the back of his mind, in case it ever comes up again. He thinks he might want to look up some information about banana allergies, or hell maybe he'll have to take Peter in for a full allergy test at some point.

"Well no worries here, Petey."

Wade puts a plate stacked high with pancakes onto the island counter. He grabs the syrup, two individual plates and forks and sets them down as well. Peter sits on one of the two barstools at the counter, he doesn't hesitate to dig right in. He piles three pancakes onto his plate and drowns them in syrup. The sound he makes upon his first bite is something Wade will remember forever.

"Orange juice, milk or water? I'd offer a beer but it's a little too early for that."

"I'm only fifteen, I can't have beer." Peter reminds him adamantly.

"Right, of course." Wade knows Peter isn't old enough, but what's wrong with a little bit of underage drinking? Wade's certainly done worse when he was Peter's age.

"I'll have some orange juice if you don't mind though."

"Of course not." Wade fills a glass for the kid then piles pancakes onto his own plate.

They're almost finished when Wade's phone rings. "Sorry, Petey, I've gotta answer this." Wade crosses the room but doesn't go out onto the terrace.

"Gemma, thanks for getting back to me." At first Wade felt strange calling her by her first name but she insisted and over the last four or five years they've known each other they'd become good friends. It's not like Wade buys up tons of real estate, but he may or may not have looked into buying a few buildings here and there over the years and Gemma is nice and maybe for a while they hooked up. Gemma's mate is in the Navy, was stationed somewhere overseas, and they were both lonely. It just sort of happened, when Alexander came back, they went back to being nothing more than friends. No feelings were hurt, it was casual and fun. Definitely not a great decision, though.

"Wade, how are you this morning?"

"Fine, Gems, let's get down to business though.. you got those times set up?"

"Good news, bad news Wade."

"Give it to me straight." He laughs as he speaks.

"Got you time to see two outta three today."

"When?"

"One thirty and four thirty."

"And the other one?"

"Sold last night, the listing wasn't updated yet."

"Which one?"

"Kensington."

Shit, he'd really liked that one. Wade thinks Peter would've liked it too.

"I'll meet you at the house in Greenville at one thirty and then we can meet up at the house in Scarsdale at four thirty."

"I'll be there. See ya soon, Gems."

Wade's putting his phone back into his pocket when Peter speaks. "Who's Gemma?"

"Real estate agent." Wade walks towards Peter as he answers the question. He grabs the empty and mostly empty plates off the counter and heads to the sink with them. The leftover pancake bits go down the garbage disposal before Wade rinses the plates of syrup. It's a real bitch to get off if you let it dry up. But he doesn't feel like washing dishes right now.

"Why are you talking to a real estate agent?"

"I'm going to buy a house."

"Your apartment seems fine to me."

"The couch isn't all that comfortable, besides wouldn't you like to have your own room?"

Peter stares at him, mouth open slightly.

"Uh.. what?"

"Which part don't you understand? I'd rather not sleep on the couch for much longer."

"My own room?"

"Of course. Growing boys need space."

"You want to buy a house... for me?"

"For us, Petey."

"But,"

"Nope, no buts. You're my mate. I'm going to take care of you."

"What if I don't want to stay with you?"

Wade shakes his head, "Peter, I understand you're probably scared, I mean we've just met, but you are my mate. I will do anything I can to take care of you, protect you. I'm not just gonna let you go back to that apartment. And I'll be damned before I let you live on the streets." Why doesn't Peter understand? Wade needs to do this.

"I just don't understand why you want to do all this stuff for me?"

"I told you, Peter, you're my mate. I'll never try to make you do something you don't want. I promised you that. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to let anything happen to you."

"But I'm just a stupid little fifteen year old. I'm nothing special."

"Please, don't talk about yourself like that, Peter." When Peter doesn't say anything Wade speaks again. "Go shower and get dressed. We're meeting Gemma at one thirty to look at a house in Greenville."

Peter doesn't respond but goes through his duffle bag pulling clothes out before disappearing into the bathroom.

Wade changes into a pair of jeans once he hears the water running in the bathroom.

\--

Peter tries to argue about going with Wade to see the house, he quickly gives up.

Wade convinces Peter to at least come with him to see the house. It almost seems too easy how quickly Peter stops fighting him. Wade knows he stops because of the bond, even if Peter doesn't quite know how to control his body to stop his biology from being suppressed, some of it is already coming out and connecting to Wade. Whether Peter wants it to or not.

The house in Greenville has three bedrooms, two on the second floor and one on the main level. Semi-open concept kitchen and living space. Two and a half bathrooms.

"What do you think, Peter?"

"I don't see why it matters what I think.. it's going to be your house."

"It'll be your home too. Your opinion matters to me."

Peter huffs and rolls his eyes, "Whatever. It's fine."

Wade doesn't want to argue with him now, so he shuts up about the house, for now. "Alright, Gems, we'll meet you in Scarsdale later."

Gemma gets into her SUV and drives away.

"Would you like to stop and get something for lunch?" Wade's trying to get along with Peter. To get Peter to like him.

Peter doesn't say anything.

"Fine, we'll just go home until we need to meet Gemma." The kid is getting on his nerves. He's really trying and Peter just isn't. Wade feels shitty about it, but there's only so much he can take. Maybe he should've taken the job Weasel had offered. But, that would've also meant dealing with Vanessa and Wade isn't sure that's something he can do, not yet--maybe not ever.  
\--

Peter tries to argue again when it's time to go meet Gemma in Scarsdale.

"It's going to be your house too, Peter."

"It's not."

"It is, if you want it to be. Peter, you're my soulmate. I'm not going to just let you go back to that apartment alone. But, if you don't want anything to do with me, I'll… find somewhere else for you to stay."

"Why do you care so fucking much?"

Wade sighed, "It's not that simple. You naturally suppress everything your biology is telling you about this, about us."

"So it's all biology for you then? Is that what you're going to tell me every time?" Wade can hear the anger in Peter's voice. He thinks maybe he can feel it too.

"No, Peter. It's not just biology. I'm not going to lie and tell you biology has nothing to do with it. Our biological bond controls a lot of this, but it's not the only reason I want to help you." Wade pauses, trying to compose himself. "I meant what I said Peter, if you want it to be your house too, it will be. If you want to stay with me, I'll let you stay forever. But, if you don't want any of this… I promise I will find somewhere else for you to live."

Peter doesn't say anything, but Wade can hear him putting his shoes back on.

Wade doesn't say anything else, leaving both of them to their thoughts. Wade leads Peter down to the car. Peter doesn't argue, Wade is calmed by that.

\--

"I guess I'm sorry for being an asshole." They're on their way back from seeing the house in Scarsdale when Peter finally speaks to him.

"You were being an asshole, so apology accepted, but I need you to know that whatever you decide, is okay. Don't let me force you or try to force you into anything. I don't want to be that type of person."

"You're not forcing me. I just feel like… I don't know how to control this. This would be easier if I knew how to control my biology. If I could make myself feel… I know that I'll be okay with you, safe with you. But, just because I know that doesn't mean that my brain's on board. It's yelling stranger, and old and I want it to stop. I wish I hadn't been born mated."

"I'm glad that you were born mated."

"Why?"

"Biology."

"What does that even mean?"

Wade shakes his head, but stays focused on the road. "It just means that if you don't want anything to do with me, it'll be okay. I've said it a million times now, you naturally suppress this. That suppression will spare you any pain."

"Pain? What do you mean by pain?"

Wade doesn't answer right away, he shouldn't have said anything.

"Wade? Please, tell me. What do you mean by pain? Are you in pain?"

"Not anymore."

"But you were?" Peter's tone is laced with concern and Wade can definitely feel the anxiety coming off of him.

"Yeah, yeah I was."

"Because of me?"

"It's not your fault."

"But, it is my stupid fucking biology's fault. If I hadn't been born mated I'd be able to control this. Everything would be easier."

"Markless don't have the natural suppression like mated do. And uh, sometimes if markless ignore the pull they get, uh… they get sick. But, because you don't feel the pull that won't happen to you."

"You were sick and in pain? Is that… is that why you came to find me?"

"I told you I was out of it when I found you, I was sick then, it was really bad. I uh, I tried to just ignore it. But everything hurt, I wasn't sleeping, my head felt like it was going to explode, I was so sick to my stomach. Fuck. I'm just grateful that you won't ever experience any of that because of…" He can't finish his sentence, he doesn't want to blame himself after just telling Peter that his own pain isn't Peter's fault… can't go contradicting himself.

"I'm sorry." Peter's facing the window, and his voice is barely more than a whisper, but Wade hears him.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself, you can't control it. You never got to learn how. It's really okay, I'll be fine. Don't…" Wade swallows the lump that is rapidly forming in his throat. "Don't think that you have to stay with me because of it. I'll be okay."

"I do want to stay."

"But?

"I told you, I'm scared. And I know I shouldn't be, but I am. And it's not even that I'm scared of you… it's just everything else."

"I promise you, Peter, nothing other than a friendship will ever happen between us unless you decide that's what you want. I don't want to do anything to hurt you. I won't do anything to hurt you. And if I ever do, you need to fucking tell me."

"You won't hurt me, Wade. I know you won't. "

"So the house? You like it?" Wade changes the subject.

"Kinda liked the other one better."

"You want to look at listings when we get home?"

"Uh, yeah… I guess."

"I want you to be comfortable, I want you to like the place."

"We can look together then."

\--

Sunday night comes quicker than Wade would've liked.

"So about school…"

"Uh, I haven't, I mean once everything happened…"

"You haven't been going?" Wade asks, knowing the answer.

"No. I just didn't want to go."

"Peter, you have to go to school."

"But, CPS will show up."

"And when that happens you call me and I'll handle it."

"How? You can't be my parent and you said so yourself there's laws against certain interactions between mates when,"

Wade interrupts, "I'll handle it. It'll be okay. You don't need to worry about it now."

"I go to school in Queens, are you sure you want to deal with getting me there?"

"You want to transfer?"

"I mean I'll miss MJ and Ned but, maybe it'll be good to go somewhere where I'm not known. I can only imagine the looks I'll get from everyone… they all know about what happened. They're all gonna look at me like… like an orphan. And I know I am one, my parents died and now my uncle and, and…" Peter's voice is shaking, Wade wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around Peter and comfort him, but he knows better.

"I'd offer to kick their asses, but..."

Peter laughs, "You wouldn't. You're too nice for that."

"If you only knew, Petey." Wade knows he'll eventually have to tell Peter about his job, he doesn't want to think about that now.

"What's that supposed to mean? You like an assassin or something?" Peter's only joking but Wade chokes on his saliva.

"No, of course not."

"Dude, you're totally an assassin."

"I'm not."

"Then where do you work? You haven't gone to work at all this weekend."

"I could've gone Saturday, but I chose not to."

"Still didn't answer me. You're totally an assassin."

"I really hate to tell you this… I'm a hooker."

Peter snorts, "C'mon, Wade, just tell me."

"It's not important, I have more than enough money, I won't have to work ever again if I don't want to." And that's true, Wade has more than enough money in multiple accounts. He doesn't have to work anymore, but he still works because he likes it.

"It is important though."

"Fuck. You're not going to give up, are you?"

"Not a chance." Peter pauses, "But, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to."

"I don't want you to think differently of me once you find out. It's not…" Fuck it. "I'm a mercenary." Wade turns away, not wanting to see Peter's reaction.

"A mercenary? What does that mean?" He can hear the shock and can feel anxiety coming off Peter. Wade tries to send comforting emotions towards Peter, but he's anxious himself so it doesn't work.

"When I was younger… I uh, I was approached by these men, they said they were special forces in the military, I was struggling in so many ways that I decided to work for them. For a while it was fine, taking out bad guys, but then they wanted me to, uh, take down a really, really bad guy and I did. Everything went smooth, ya know but then… then, she was just a little kid, I couldn't do it. So they got rid of me. I needed the money and I stumbled into this bar one night and met up with an old friend, found out he'd been getting into some shady shit… he takes contracts from people and then he hires someone to fulfill the contracts. It started out simple, intimidating stalkers and stuff like that. But the pay for that was shitty and I knew how to kill so we started accepting those contracts too. I would never, ever hurt you Peter. You don't have to be afraid of me."

"I'm not. I mean, maybe I should be, but I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm really not."

"Fuck, Petey… even 'Ness was scared of me at first." Wade is surprised.

"Well, I don't know who 'Ness is, but I'm not afraid. Wade, we're mates, right? I shouldn't be afraid of you."

"I'm dangerous though, I've killed a lot of people. I still kill people."

"Then you'll be able to keep me safe."

"Oh yeah, so safe baby boy." Wade doesn't even realize he says it, it feels so natural.

"Wade."

"What?"

"You called me, nevermind." Peter's smiling so Wade doesn't press.

"Do you want to skip another day or two and I'll call to get you transferred. I'm not really sure who to call or what the process is, but that's tomorrow's problem." Wade's rambling.

"Yeah, sounds good."

\--

They end up calling Gemma the next day and Wade puts in an offer on the house in Greenville, the seller accepts right away. Wade may have offered a little extra, Peter had told him that he really liked the house, all the ones they found online didn't look right, and Wade wasn't going to let it get away. Once he knew they had the house Wade called Peter's school in Queens and discussed transferring him to Greenville's high school. The process was pretty simple, but he couldn't officially transfer Peter unless he was his guardian.

Wade went down to the CPS office to talk to Peter's caseworker in person. He avoided the soulmate topic and she never asked, thankfully. He told her he was a friend of the family and wanted to help them out. It seemed like the caseworker was disinterested, so a few quick questions later and they had a hearing set up for monday morning. Wade was afraid of how that would go.

They moved into the new house by the end of the week.

Monday morning came and Wade felt sick. He wasn't going to give up without a fight. Peter was required to be at the hearing, so he and Wade met with Wade's lawyer outside the courthouse, bright and early. They'd told Wade he wouldn't need to have a lawyer present, but better safe than sorry.

The judge asks Peter a few questions about Wade, which he answers truthfully. The judge asks Wade why he wants to take Peter in, why he wants to be responsible for Peter for three years, less if May wakes up. Wade pours his heart out, exaggerating a bit, about how he's always wanted children but never had any, and how he wants to take care of Peter. He knows what it's like to have no one. The judge grants Wade guardianship of Peter.

They celebrate with ice cream.

Wade can't stop thinking about how it all seems too easy.

Peter starts school the following day.

\--

The first time Peter calls Wade, daddy it's completely by accident. Peter is sick, he's got a fever and he's been throwing up for a few days. Wade takes care of him, makes him take tylenol. Wade tries to take him to the doctor, but Peter argues. Tells Wade he's fine, it's just a stomach bug. But once his fever spikes and he can barely keep water down, Wade drags him in. They find out that Peter has an appendicitis, if they would've waited much longer it would've burst. They rush him back for surgery, Wade is a mess. He paces the waiting room and tries not to cry. His mate could've fucking died, he'd waited so long to even have a mate and now… Wade didn't want to think about the possibilities.

The surgery takes longer than usual, when they finally come out to get him Wade braces himself for the worst. During the surgery they couldn't get the bleeding to stop, Peter needed a transfusion. But once they got it under control everything went smoothly. Peter would be in a recovery room for a few hours and then he'd have to stay at least overnight.

The nurse led Wade back to where Peter was, the kid was still knocked out from the anesthesia. Wade sat next to the bed and tried to resist the urge to grab Peter's hand. He tried to send off soothing calm emotions toward him, hoping to make Peter feel better quicker.

Wade's staring down at his phone, Weasel has been calling and texting him all day about a job, when Peter starts to wake up.

Peter emits a soft groan as his eyes flutter open followed by, "Daddy?"

Wade freezes, unsure of how to react. Peter, his little baby mate Peter just called him daddy. Something in Wade's stomach twists, arousal definitely. He tries to ignore it.

"Hey, Petey. You doing okay?"

"Wade, I wanna go home." He's groggy and whiny, his throat sounds dry.

"I know, but you've gotta stay tonight."

"I don't wanna." Peter's still whining.

"I'm going to go find the nurse, let her know you're awake."

"Don't leave me." Peter sounds like he might start crying.

"Not leaving you, baby boy. I'll be right back." Wade knowingly calls Peter baby boy, he hopes Peter doesn't react negatively.

"Okay, daddy." Wade briefly wonders if Peter is doing it on purpose, but quickly dismisses those thoughts and chalks it up to the anesthesia.

It happens three more times before Peter is released from the hospital, and every time Wade has to force himself to ignore his arousal--ignore why Peter calling him daddy causes him to react that way.

\--

May Parker passes away in early April, Peter’s devastated and Wade struggles to console him. The official cause of death is heart failure, Wade often wonders how her heart could've gotten weak enough to fail while she was in a coma, while being consistently monitored?

Wade handles all the funeral arrangements, pays for everything all while trying to not break down constantly. He has to stay strong for Peter, but it’s so hard. He never met the woman, but the pain and sadness coming off Peter at all times tells Wade that she must’ve been a very special woman.

The funeral is small, a few of May’s friends show up as well as Ned and MJ. Peter doesn’t have any other relatives, none that he knows at least. Peter cries and cries and Wade is always there. There aren’t any hugs exchanged between them, and Wade can’t help but feel jealous when Peter wraps himself around MJ at the funeral.

For about a week after the funeral Peter doesn’t leave Wade’s side. Peter’s constantly putting off sad, scared emotions and Wade struggles with thoughts he thought he’d gotten rid of years ago. Peter sleeps in Wade’s bed every night, he holds on to Wade’s hand while he sleeps. No other physical contact, just Peter’s fingers laced together with Wade’s. Wade struggles, he wants to pull Peter into his arms every night. He wants to hold him and kiss his forehead and tell him everything will be okay. But he can’t. He doesn’t want to push Peter into something he’s not ready for.

\--

The months pass by quickly. Wade thinks it's because he is actually happy now. Winter fades into spring and spring into summer faster than Wade's ever experienced. He sometimes wishes it would slow down, he wants to be able to cherish his time with Peter.

\--

Peter calls him daddy again during the last week of school, Peter's stressing over finals and Wade's going crazy from all the stressed out scents and emotions in the house.

"Peter, you're brilliant, you have no reason to stress so much."

"But the tests are hard." Peter's whining and Wade tries to calm himself down. He doesn't want to snap on Peter.

"I know, I know they're hard, but you'll be fine. Let's go out to dinner and try to forget about tests for a while."

"I have to study."

"You can skip a couple hours."

Peter tries to argue again, Wade interrupts him, "You can pick the restaurant."

"I don't want to go out to eat." Peter sounds like a petulant brat.

"We're going somewhere, don't be a brat."

"Be nice, daddy." Peter smirks.

Wade knows it's intentional this time.

"I am being nice, baby boy."

"I need to study, daddy."

Wade has to stop a groan from escaping, he shakes his head. Two can play this game, "Let daddy take you out to dinner and then I'll help you study when we get home."

Peter's eyes widen when Wade calls himself daddy. "Uh, um, okay." Peter stutters, Wade wants to kiss him. He has to keep reminding himself that Peter is only fifteen. Something deep inside him argues that Peter is his soulmate, that it's okay, but Wade ignores it.

\--

Wade takes Peter to Rome for a week during July, he lets Peter choose where they go. Wade doesn't mention that Rome is considered a "romantic" vacation destination.

Peter's birthday approaches quickly and Wade plans a party for him and his friends, he makes sure he invites MJ and Ned. Peter tries to see them often, but the locational differences make it hard.

\--

His birthday party goes smoothly, it's after the party when things get complicated.

Wade initially was going to have Peter's friends stay over, but to Wade's surprise Peter hadn't wanted them to stay. Wade wonders why Peter doesn't want to spend more time with them.

It's almost two in the morning when Peter attempts to silently creep into Wade's bedroom. Wade hears him before he sees him. Peter crawls into his bed, under the blankets.

"Daddy?" His voice is soft and Wade almost doesn't hear him.

"Petey? Are you okay?" After the appendicitis happened a few months ago, Wade is always worried about Peter’s health. A simple sneeze and Wade almost hauls him in for a checkup.

Peter is pressed against him under the blankets, Wade immediately notices that he's only wearing a thin t-shirt and boxers, his skin is cool against Wade's.

"I can't sleep." There's a whiny undertone to his voice.

"You feel okay though?"

"No."

"What's wrong baby boy?"

Peter doesn't say anything, he presses himself tighter against Wade's side, his head is on Wade's shoulder, breath ghosting across Wade's bare skin. Wade tries not to shudder when he feels Peter's cock pressed against his hip.

"Peter?" They can't do this, Peter's only sixteen.

"Will you touch me, daddy? Please." Peter drags out the words please, and rubs himself against Wade.

"We can't." Wade whispers, he wants this. He's wanted this, but there were laws and Wade isn't like that.

Peter ruts against him and whimpers. Wade's cock is already straining against his boxers. Peter's fingers are splayed across Wade's bare chest, "But, I want you to touch me."

Peter's fingers are trailing lower and lower, Wade knows he should stop him, but he doesn't want to stop him. Peter's fingers stop at his waistband, he's still slowly grinding against Wade's hip.

Fuck.

He wants to touch Peter, wants Peter to touch him.

"Fuck, baby boy, you're not making this easy for me."

Peter's nose is against his ear, his breath is hot and wet as he speaks, "Please, daddy." The breathy sounds he's making in Wade's ear and Peter calling him daddy are what break him.

"Fuck." He pulls Peter on top of him, and kisses him. Wade's hands are on Peter's ass, squeezing lightly.

Peter grinds down on him, Wade can feel the growing wet spot on his own boxers as Peter presses against him. Wade pushes Peter up, he's straddling Wade's hips, he has to stop himself from thrusting up at Peter.

"Fuck, Petey. Can I?" Wade pulls at the bottom of Peter's shirt.

"Yes, daddy." Wade pulls the shirt over Peter's head and tosses it across the room. Wade's eyes are immediately drawn to the small black circle on Peter's hip, he strokes it with his thumb for a moment before pulling Peter back down into a kiss.

Peter’s movements are becoming erratic, Wade grips his hips and slows him. Wade breaks the kiss, “Wait, baby boy, wait.” Wade flips them so Peter is lying underneath him on the bed.

“But, daddy,”

Wade silences him with another kiss. “I’m not stopping, Petey, but I want these off, okay?” Wade gently tugs on Peter’s boxers, not removing them until Peter says he can. Peter nods.

“Words baby boy, I need you to tell me.” Wade needs to know that Peter wants this, consent is top priority.

“Yes, Wade, yes. Please.”

Wade smiles, kicks the blankets off of them and pulls Peter’s boxers down, they join his shirt on the floor across the room. Wade climbs off the bed and shoves his own boxers onto the floor.

“Oh, look how wet you are for me baby.” In the moonlight Wade can see the precum glistening on the head of Peter’s swollen cock. He wants to taste, but he’s not sure if now is the time for that. He settles himself in between Peter’s legs, their thighs are pressed together and it’s the most skin on skin contact they’ve had so far and Wade can’t stop the shiver that runs down his spine.

“Please, Wade.” The whiny tone is back in Peter’s voice.

“What do you want, baby boy, tell daddy what you need.”

Peter thrusts up towards Wade, and moans when his cock rubs against Wade’s. The sensation is almost too much for Wade, he almost comes then. 

You really can’t blame him though, it’s been forever since he’d gotten laid, and Peter… fuck Peter was different. Peter wasn’t just someone to get Wade’s dick wet, no, Peter is Wade’s mate. Everything is more intense, and fuck if it’s not amazing.

“Fuck, baby boy.” Wade’s pressing short sloppy kisses onto Peter’s mouth, cheeks, neck, he can't stop himself from sucking and biting small marks into Peter’s neck and collarbone, marking Peter as Wade's. The wanton sounds coming from Peter are diving Wade crazy.

“Wade, please, please I need...” Peter’s sentence trails off, Wade suspects Peter’s not actually sure what he wants.

“I know, baby boy. I know.” Wade however knows exactly what Peter needs, what Peter wants. Wade leans over and pulls a bottle of lube out of his nightstand drawer. Wade sits up, towering over Peter and pops the cap open, he pours a generous amount of lube into his palm. Wade knows the lube is going to be cold, “Brace yourself, baby boy.” Before Peter can react Wade wraps his fingers around Peter’s cock.

“Fuck, Wade.” Peter’s hips jerk upward. Wade wants to hear all the sounds Peter’s making, wants to hear how good he’s making Peter feel, despite that the need to kiss Peter is too strong and he covers Peter’s lips with his own. Peter’s tongue is shoved into Wade’s mouth, it shocks Wade that Peter is so aggressive, but he’s definitely not complaining.

Peter’s thrusting up into Wade’s hand, Peter’s fingers twist in Wade’s hair and tug. Wade breaks the kiss and groans. Leave it to the kid to find another thing that gets Wade going.

Peter’s moaning, breath coming out in quick pants. “Daddy.” Peter’s close, Wade can feel and smell all the emotions and pheromones coming from Peter, the lust, and happiness, there’s an edge of anxiety that Wade doesn’t like though.

“Come on, baby boy, come for daddy.” Peter’s cock twitches in Wade’s hand and then he’s coming, hot and wet all over Wade’s fingers.

Wade strokes Peter through his orgasm before using the leftover lube and Peter’s cum to jerk himself off. “Shit, Petey.” Peter’s still tugging on his hair.

“Wade,” Peter’s still coming down, “I want you to come on me.” Peter’s fingers join Wade’s, and Wade loses it. He can’t stop himself, his head dips down and he bites at Peter’s collarbone as he comes. Peter brings his hand up to his mouth and licks Wade’s cum off of his fingers, and Wade almost blacks out.

“Holy shit, baby boy. Where’d you learn to do that?”

Peter doesn’t respond, he kisses Wade. He can taste himself on Peter’s tongue, his dick twitches--he’s interested, but there's no way he’s getting hard again so quickly.

Wade breaks the kiss and falls onto the bed next to Peter, he pulls him into his arms, Peter’s head is on his chest and Wade never wants him to leave.

“Wade?”

“Peter?”

“Can I stay here?”

“Always, baby boy.”

Once his breathing is back to normal Wade shifts Peter out of his arms and climbs off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t think either of us will want to end up crusty in the morning.” Wade grabs a washcloth from the bathroom, wets it and wipes himself off before returning to Peter. He’s lying on his back staring up at the ceiling. Wade wipes him clean, tosses the washcloth vaguely towards the open bathroom door, it sounds like the wet cloth hits the tiled floor, at least it’s not on the carpet.

Wade pulls Peter into his arms again, he covers them with the blanket. He presses a kiss to the top of Peter’s head.

“I love you, Wade.”

Wade’s heart seems to skip a beat, “I love you too, Peter. I love you too.”

\--

When Wade wakes up Peter is gone, the bed is cold where he would've been. Wade's heart drops into his stomach.

Why the fuck did he let that happen last night?

Stupid fucking idiot.

He rolls out of bed and heads for the shower, maybe the steam will help clear his head. The first thing he notices when he enters the bathroom is that the washcloth he'd thrown wasn't on the floor where it should've been. He glances back into his bedroom, his and Peter’s clothes are gone from their places on the floor too.

Maybe that's a good sign, maybe Peter cleaned up because he doesn't regret last night. Peter likes to keep the place clean, despite being a teenager he's a bit anal about clutter and mess. At first it drove Wade mad, his life was chaos and Peter changed that.

Or maybe he cleaned it up so he wouldn't be reminded of what happened.

Shut the shit up fucknugget.

The shower doesn't help, Wade's head is pounding by the time he gets out. He needs to find Peter and talk to him. Wade brushes his teeth before dressing in sweats and a black t-shirt, no point in getting dressed up. He feels like shit, he’s not leaving the house unless he has to.

Wade picks up his phone off the nightstand, he has a text from Weasel, for once it’s not about a job, he doesn’t bother to reply though.

He doesn’t head straight for Peter’s room even though he really wants to, but he doesn’t want Peter to feel like he’s invading his space.

He can hear the dryer running as he makes his way into the kitchen, he’s not hungry, but caffeine would be nice. He would start a pot of coffee but he’s impatient, he instead opens a red bull and chugs half of it all at once. There’s no signs that Peter’s even been in the kitchen at all today, hopefully Peter’s eaten something. Wade heads into the living room, again no signs that Peter’s been in there.

He’s probably locked himself in his bedroom, upset.

Wade momentarily debates slamming his head off the wall.

Why had he been so impulsive last night?

Wade tries to feel for any emotions, scent for leftover pheromones in the house, there’s definitely anxiety everywhere, but that could be coming from himself.

Son of a bitch.

Wade flops down onto the couch, maybe Peter will come out of his room soon? Or maybe he’ll never come out? Maybe he’s already left?

Wade shakes his head, and finishes off his red bull. He sets the empty can on to the coffee table.

What the fuck is he going to do?

The caffeine starts to kick in pretty quickly, Wade can’t just sit on the couch and stew. He needs to be doing something. He starts in the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, then scrubbing the counter tops, he cleans out the refrigerator, takes the nearly full trash bag out, bleaches the sink and finally mops the floor. Wade glaces at the digital clock display on the stove, eleven thirteen. He’s been cleaning for just under an hour and still no sign of Peter.

Wade heard the dryer buzz a while ago, he decides he should get the clothes out, fold them and put them away. That could be his way into Peter’s room without technically invading his space.

There aren’t many clothes in the dryer as he unloads it. Peter had just done the laundry a couple days ago, the hamper couldn’t have been very full.

A couple towels, a pair of Peter’s jeans, three socks that don’t go together, a couple pairs of Wade’s boxers, a washcloth that Wade definitely recognizes from the night before as well as Peter’s t-shirt and boxers.

He was trying to wash away the evidence of the night before.

No, Peter’s was just being responsible and doing their laundry.

Wade leaves the three mismatched socks on top of the dryer, he puts the towels into the linen closet outside the half bathroom, he’ll move them to the upstairs bathroom later. He tosses his own clothes and the washcloth, that belongs in his bathroom, onto his bed. He carefully folds Peter’s clothes, and heads upstairs to his room.

He stands outside the door for a few minutes, he can’t hear anything from inside Peter’s room.

Maybe he’s asleep?

Or maybe he’s gone.

Wade feels like he’s going to throw up. He tries to feel for Peter, tries to determine where Peter is with the pull, but he hasn’t had to ‘use’ it in months, they’ve been in close proximity for so long that it doesn’t seem to work. Which does make sense, sometimes when markless were nearly constantly in proximity of their soulmate who was born mated, the markless would start to naturally suppress their biology the way mated did. It was some weird science shit that Wade didn’t try to understand. It was sort of a biological defense mechanism so that markless wouldn't get sick from the pull immediately when separated from their mate.

Because of that he can’t rely on his biology to ‘find’ Peter. He has to do this, and he has to do it right now. He holds Peter’s clothes in one hand and knocks with the other.

Wade is met with silence, he thinks about knocking again but figures he should just leave.

He makes it halfway down the hall when he hears the door open, “Wade?”

Wade freezes.

“Wade?” Peter says his name again.

He slowly turns towards him, “Uh, Peter… I was just bringing you your laundry.” 

“Oh, thank you.” Peter steps towards him.

Wade can clearly see the small red spots on the skin of Peter’s neck and he nearly drops the clothes. Once Peter is close enough to take the clothes out of Wade’s hand, he can see the edge of the bite mark on Peter’s collarbone peeking out from underneath the collar of his shirt. Wade shoves the clothes into Peter’s hand and bolts down the stairs.

He did that, he fucking bit Peter. He hurt Peter.

He slams his bedroom door behind him, he slides down it, he’s crying and he feels dizzy. His heart is beating a mile a minute and the room seems to be spinning.

Fuck. Fucking fuck. He can’t do this.

Wade hasn't had a panic attack in years, not since before Special Forces. After Special Forces he was drunk more often than not though, so if he had a panic attack he doesn't remember it.

He closes his eyes and tries to take calming breaths.

Wade can distantly hear his phone ringing in his pocket, and maybe he can hear Peter outside his door, calling his name.

Breathe numbnuts, just fucking breathe.

His chest feels tight and his lungs burn with each breath. His head is in-between his knees, his stomach is churning and he’s digging his fingernails into his palms. The pain helps to ground him, he doesn't want to think about why.

"Wade? Please open the door." Peter doesn't try to open the door though, if he tried he would find that it's unlocked.

"Please let me in."

Wade's starting to calm down, he doesn't feel quite so dizzy anymore and his breathing is evening out.

"Are you okay? Wade, please."

Wade pushes himself up off the floor, rubs his eyes with his hands, and pulls the door open.

Peter looks upset, and Wade can see the tears in his eyes.

Fuck. He did that. He caused Peter to cry. Wade almost slams the door shut again.

"Wade, are you okay? What happened?"

He doesn't say anything.

"C'mon, Wade, talk to me."

Wade's unsure what to say, so he resorts to ignoring it. "It was nothing. Don't worry about it." He doesn't look at Peter as he speaks, he doesn't want to see what he did.

"That wasn't nothing."

"It doesn't matter."

"Is it because of… last night?"

He shakes his head, "I said it doesn't matter."

"You can't even look at me, was it something I did?"

Wade turns away from Peter, "It's not that simple. Just forget everything that happened, okay?" He doesn't want to forget it, but it'll be better this way.

"Forget it? I don't want to forget any of it." Peter pauses, "But, I want to know why you want to forget it?"

Son of a fuck.

"I said it's not that simple."

"Did you… did you not want,"

Wade cuts him off, "Of course I wanted it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have done it, I told you that consent matters. But I shouldn't have let it happen."

"Why not? Because I'm sixteen? Who fucking cares? Wade, we're mates, right? And that doesn't happen for no reason."

"There are laws and I told you I wouldn't,"

"Wade, stop."

Wade crosses the room and drops down onto the bed face first.

"I know what we did is illegal, I know that, but Wade I don't care. I love you, that's all that should matter."

Wade wants to say “I love you” back, but he can’t, not now, not when he feels so shitty.

His voice is muffled by the bed, "I feel like I forced you."

"What? Wade, c'mon I can't understand you. Please, just look at me." The bed dips down next to him, he can smell the concern and sadness coming off of Peter. He’s not sure if smelling or feeling it is worse. Wade doesn’t want to feel it coming from Peter, and doesn’t want Peter to feel it from him.

Fuck.

It makes Wade feel impossibly worse.

"I'm sorry." He lifts his head off the bed just enough that Peter should be able to understand him.

"You don't have anything to apologize for."

When did Peter get so mature? He certainly didn't learn it from Wade.

"If anyone finds out… they'll say I forced you. I feel like I forced you and I promised that wouldn't happen."

"You didn't force me into anything, Wade. If anyone was forced… it was you. I should be apologizing."

"You didn't force me into anything. I wanted it to happen, I've wanted it to happen."

"But, you didn't do it. You promised you wouldn't do anything until I decided it should happen. And I decided that I wanted my birthday to be special, and it was… because of you."

"If you really feel that way then why did you…" Wade stops himself. He shakes his head.

"Why did I do what?"

"Forget it."

"Not this bullshit again, why did I what? What did I do wrong?"

Wade hits his head off the bed, the mattress is firmer than he expected and now his nose hurts. "Fuck."

"Please, just tell me what I did wrong, I know I'm inexperienced, but if I did something bad I have a right to know."

"If you really have no problem with what happened, why'd you leave?" Wade feels stupid, like a fucking child, the way he’s acting. He’s a grown man for fucks sake, not a twelve year old with a crush who’s upset that their "boyfriend" isn’t sitting with them at lunch.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you asked me if you could stay and I told you yes and then I woke up to an empty bed. The sheets were cold. When did you leave? As soon as I passed out?"

"What? No… no, Wade, that's not what happened."

He sits up, but still doesn't look at Peter, "Really, Peter?" Wade's aware his voice has a certain tone to it, one that he really doesn't want to be using towards Peter, yet it's there.

"I woke up at like, seven thirty maybe, and I had to use the bathroom. I didn't want to wake you up, you looked… peaceful or something, I don't know. So I took a piss, and then cleaned up our mess. I started a load of laundry then took a shower and then I put the clothes into the dryer. I don't know... I went to my room and I must've fallen asleep I guess 'cause next thing I know you were knocking on my door with the laundry."

"You could've… could've come back to bed."

"Like I said I didn't want to wake you up. I didn’t want to bother you."

"Peter, I…"

"Wade, I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be upset."

Before Wade can react Peter's pulling him into a hug.

"I'm really sorry." Peter's voice is muffled by Wade's shoulder.

Wade shakes his head, "It's okay, baby boy. I shouldn't have," Wade swallows hard, "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

"No, I get it. It's okay, Wade. Let me take care of you too. It shouldn't be one sided just because I'm younger. I'm still your mate, I can take care of you too."

Wade's not sure how that makes him feel, it's good, definitely, but something deep inside him feels so intensely different than anything he's felt before. It's difficult for him to process.

"Thank you, baby boy."

Peter kisses his cheek, it makes Wade feel impossibly young, and they fall into a comfortable silence.

\--

After Peter's birthday he tries crawling into Wade's bed every night, at first Wade tries to protest. Tries sending Peter back to his own bed, just because they'd been intimate once didn't mean it needed to continue. They'd both consented, but there were still laws. And as much as Wade wanted Peter in his bed, he didn’t want to force anything. He'd let Peter stay in his bed every night after May passed, but things were different now.

The seventh or eighth night Wade caves and lets Peter stay. Nothing happens other than some cuddling, Peter tries though, rubs himself against Wade, dips his fingers underneath the waistband of Wade’s pajama pants and boxers, but never explicitly touches Wade's dick.

Consent, Wade's reiterated that consent is key so often in the past week that Peter must be asking without speaking. Peter’s fingers are gently rubbing circles into Wade’s skin.

“Peter, wait.”

Peter freezes, “Wade?”

“We shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not.”

“But, we already…”

Wade sighs, “Peter, what happened… it shouldn’t have happened.”

Peter pulls away from Wade and scoots across the bed so that Wade isn’t touching him anymore. “I-I thought,” Peter’s voice shakes as he speaks.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“But, we already talked about this, I wanted it. You s-said you wanted it too.” Wade can see the tears in Peter’s eyes.

“No, I did, I still do want it… but we shouldn’t, fuck, Peter, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”

Peter’s sniffling and his breathing is stuttered, tears falling down his flushed cheeks.

Fuck. Good job, dumbass.

“Petey, I’m sorry. You,” Wade swallows the lump forming in his throat, “I love you, I really do, but, the laws are there for a reason, and I know I’ve killed a lot of people so who am I to say what laws should be followed?” Wade pauses, trying to calm his breathing--he can feel the panic rising and now is not the time to end up hyperventilating from a fucking panic attack. “I know that you want this, that I want this.” Wade shakes his head, “But, I can’t do this. Not now.”

Wade can feel the bed shaking slightly, he can hear Peter’s sniffling and choked sobs. And Wade feels like complete and utter shit. He simultaneously wants to pull Peter into his arms to comfort him, and go to Weasel’s bar and get trashed until he can’t even remember his own name.

“Please stop crying, baby boy, please. I’m not saying any of this to hurt you,”

“B-but you are hurt-hurting me.” Peter sounds so broken, and so young.

Motherfucker, stupid motherfucker, he’s a child, and Wade’s hurting him.

Wade’s quickly becoming overwhelmed by sadness, fear, anxiety, panic. The emotions seem to be pouring off Peter, and maybe they’re coming from Wade too. He wants to run, wants to stay. Wade tries to calm himself enough that calm pheromones can mix with the rest, it doesn’t work and that makes him panic more.

Not fucking now, now is not the time for a panic attack.

He takes a deep breath in through his nose out through his mouth, it helps a little, but the scent coming from Peter, the sound of him crying and the way the kid is shaking negates anything good that came from it.

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know what I can say or do to make this better.”

Peter tries to speak, but a sob comes out instead.

The sound makes Wade feel like his heart is being ripped from his chest. He reaches his hand out towards Peter, consent is still something Wade needs, he won’t touch Peter unless he wants it to happen, and as much as Peter has said he wants this, Wade has to be sure. He isn’t fucking like that, it doesn’t matter how old Peter is or isn’t… consent is still important. One thing Wade hates the most is people who ignore consent, who take without the other person wanting it. All he wants to do is hold Peter’s hand, hopefully the physical contact will help comfort him. Peter’s fingers touch Wade’s, the touch is light and if Wade wasn’t looking at his outstretched hand he might not have even felt it.

“Baby boy, I love you. I will always love you. You told me that just because you’re younger that it shouldn’t matter, that we’re mates and that makes this different. And you’re right, it is different, it’s not simple--easy, Peter, you have to understand that soulmate laws are there to protect you. The law says that you are a child, and even if you don’t think that, or I don’t think that, it’s still true.”

Peter’s still crying, but the shaking and sobbing have stopped. His face is flushed, his nose is bright red and his cheeks are wet from the slow falling tears.

“I’m, uh, Petey, I promise I won’t push you away from me anymore, but that can’t happen. You can still sleep in here, if you want. Hold my hand whenever you want, cuddle on the couch and watch movies, sleep with your head on my chest, but,” Wade sighs, “We cannot have sex, it just can’t happen, I don’t want feel like I’m forcing you, or that… Peter, I’m not a pedophile,” Wade’s voice shakes, just saying it makes him want to throw up, the word tastes like acid, or maybe that’s just the bile coming up.

Before Wade can finish his sentence, Peter interrupts, “I know you’re not. Wade, I know you would never… I know you’re not like that.”

“It doesn’t matter what we know, if anyone else found out before you turn eighteen, I could go to prison. And not just because you’re underage, they’d find out that we’re soulmates, and then I’d get charged for interacting with my underage mate, living with my underage mate.” Wade’s afraid.

Something shifts in Peter’s expression, his fingers intertwine with Wade’s, “I can smell and feel that you’re afraid, I've never really been able to before. You don’t have to be scared, Wade.”

“I’m not scared, I’m fucking terrified. I don’t want to lose you. I thought for so, so long that I was broken. That I would never have a mate. When the spiderling showed up on my wrist I didn’t believe it was real. Peter, I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, but the second you were born with that spiderling on your wrist, I was hurting you. Baby boy, you don’t deserve any of this. You deserve the fucking world and I,” Wade sniffles, acutely aware that he’s crying. “I can’t give that to you. Not now at least, no matter how badly I want to. I love you, I’ve loved since you were born. But I’m hurting you,” Wade shakes his head, trying to clear the thoughts, rearranging them so they make sense, “I can’t lose you, I won’t lose you. Because of that, Peter nothing sexual can happen between us until you’re old enough.”

Peter scoots closer to him, his grip tightens on Wade’s hand. “You’re not going to lose me, don’t ever think that.”

“But,”

“No, Wade, nothing is going to make me leave. You’re not broken, you never were. Soulmates happen for a reason, there’s a reason I was born with the spiderling on my wrist, there’s a reason I have the crossed katanas on my chest, a reason that I have a blue hourglass and black circle. All of them have a meaning, and maybe I haven’t figured the meanings out yet, but they’re there. Wade, I love you.” Peter pulls their hands to his chest, and drapes his other arm over Wade.

They’re both silent, breathing in each other’s scents, feeling each other’s emotions. Slowly the panic dissipates, quickly followed by most of the anxiety. There is still an edge of fear and sadness, but it’s being overpowered by comfort and love.

"Wade?" Peter's head is on Wade's chest, and everything feels good.

"Peter?"

"I, uh, I know you said no sex and I get it, but, uh, can I… can I kiss you? Please."

Wade's unsure what to do, what to say. He wants Peter to kiss him, but if they kiss… Wade might not be able to stop. He's not sure if he's strong enough to stop.

"I don't know if I'll be able to stop."

"You don't have to stop. Wade, no one needs to know."

Maybe, it would be okay. Wade's never been someone who kissed softly, kisses always led to more. But, maybe with Peter things would be different. Everything else was already different, kisses could be different too.

"Yes." Wade nudges the top of Peter's head with his nose, he inhales deeply. The scent is comforting, he smells like shampoo and something purely Peter.

Peter lifts his head, looks into Wade's eyes and presses his lips to Wade's. It's soft and sweet and even though there's no real heat or urgency to it, it's perfect. Their lips move languidly together, but neither move to deepen the kiss.

Wade pulls away first, he opens his mouth, then closes it, he doesn't want to ruin the moment by running his mouth.

Peter lays his head back on Wade's chest, "Goodnight, Wade."

"Goodnight, Petey." Wade smiles, he focuses on the sound of Peter breathing as he falls asleep.

Maybe everything will be fine, maybe no one will find out.

Or maybe everything will go wrong, maybe they'll get caught and then Wade will lose Peter.

Wade falls asleep listening to Peter's breathing, while waves of love and comfort are crashing over him, trying to overpower the anxiety coming off of Wade.

\--

Stolen kisses and lots of cuddles happen over the next few weeks, it all seems perfect and then Peter goes back to school and things change.

They spend less time together cuddling on the couch and more often than not Peter sleeps in his own bed. Peter's consistently in his room buried in homework, he barely makes it out for dinner most nights. Wade brings his plate up to his room, and always finds it in the sink the next morning.

Wade tells himself over and over that junior year is different than sophomore year. Peter's in AP classes and those are tough. He tells himself over and over that Peter isn't pushing him away on purpose, that Peter still wants him--them.

That doesn't make it hurt any less.

\--

September and October pass by quickly. Wade does a couple jobs for Weasel the week of Halloween, he doesn't need the money, but he needs the distraction. The house has been filled with the edge of stress and sadness.

Wade tries to get Peter to talk to him, Peter insists everything is fine and plays it off as class is hard.

He gets the first job done quicker than anticipated, everything goes so well, he could've done it in his sleep. The second job doesn't go according to plan. Not that he really had a plan, his plan was to go in guns blazing and take out the bad guy, he underestimated, more like Weasel was an idiot and didn't get all the information before giving Wade the job, the amount of security the guy would have.

He's highly trained, he knows how to get out of situations like this, and still take down his target. Wade ends up with a bullet in his shoulder and a couple of fractured ribs.

\--

There was supposed to be two guards outside and one inside with Wade's target. He should've known something was wrong when he sees two guards at each entrance. Wade ignores the voice in his head that is warning him. Subtlety has never been Wade's strong suit, especially not when on merc jobs, he at least has the sense this time to not shoot the guards outside, he uses Bea and Arthur instead. He takes the men down quickly and quietly before heading inside.

The first few rooms are empty, which he expected. There are a few crates scattered throughout, he briefly wonders what's in them… drugs, money, weapons? He shakes his head, that is not why he's here. Maybe he'll come back to find out later; don't judge, he's a curious man.

The next room there's at least ten guys, one of which he knows is his target. His shots are calculated and as precise as he can manage while dodging multiple bullets. Three or maybe four of the guys drop instantly, blood splatters onto the walls and pools on the floor. A long time ago Wade might've gotten queasy at the sight, now it's almost comforting.

Wade gets slammed into a wall by one of the security guards, one of his guns jam and the guy blindsides him. He tosses the gun in his left hand, the sound distracts the guy. He then shoots the guy in the side of the head with the gun in his right hand. Blood and brain matter soak into Wade’s suit.

Wade pushes the body to the floor and dives behind a crate, he'd thrown his gun in the same general direction, it skidded across the floor though, just out of his reach.

He can hear the remaining men closing in on him, he quickly tries to figure out how many are left, what his odds are. He'd taken down at least five guys now, there were maybe five more… fuck, he doesn't have any time to waste. He pops up, hoping to surprise them, he shoots two guys in the chest, center mass, they drop easily.

Three left, including his target. They're advancing quickly, he aims for the closest guy, he squeezes the trigger and tries not to let the recoil affect him. The gun clatters onto the floor, he's never dropped his gun from recoil before. He's been using these guns, or similar for years.

What the shit just happened?

Oh, oh fuck. Fuckity fuck, that shit stings.

One of the asshats hit him, their bullet is embedded in his shoulder, Wade's in pain and he's pissed off. How dare these fucks put a bullet hole in his suit?

He pulls Bea and Arthur out of their sheaths and charges forward, slashing like a maniac. The remaining security douches lose a few limbs each, they'll bleed out--Wade isn't worried about them. His target on the other hand has turned tail and is trying to escape.

Nuh-uh, none of that shit. Running fucking sucks, his shoulder is throbbing and it hurts to breathe. Maybe he punctured a lung? No, not this time. Wade would be down if that was the case.

Wade wonders why the head dick in charge doesn't have a gun, but decides not to dwell on the why and counts it as a win.

The target is fumbling with a keypad and a heavy metal door when Wade finally catches up to him. A fucking panic room? Another fucking panic room? How many times is he gonna have to deal with these fucking things?

"I was supposed to say something to you before I killed you, fuck if I remember though. So uh, Jaime Lannister sends his regards." Wade laughs at his own joke as he shoves both katanas through the guys back, they stop abruptly when they hit the heavy metal of the door in front of the target.

He yanks them out and shoves them back into their sheaths, he crosses the room and picks up both guns, he needs to get the fuck out of here. Get to Sister Margaret's, get out of his bloody suit and have Weasel take care of the hunk of lead in his shoulder.

He's been shot before, it's fine, really. It stings like a motherfucker and every time he moves his right arm blood oozes out of the wound. It's sticky and warm and the cold air hitting it makes it ache.

\--

Wade all but collapses onto the barstool in front of Weasel.

"Christ, what happened to you?"

"Your intel was wrong, there was way way more than three guys there asshole."

"Shit, c'mon.." Weasel motions for Wade to follow him upstairs.

Once the door closes behind him, Wade pulls the mask over his head, and starts unzipping and unbuckling the suit. With the suit off his ribs feel a bit better, they're not being so compressed by the leather and spandex. Wade's not an idiot, he knows enough about injuries to know that compression and fractured ribs don't mix.

"You've gotta take the bullet out."

"You want me to just dig it out of your fucking shoulder?"

"No, I was thinking of keeping it, ya know raising it as my own. Yes, dumbfuck. I can't just go to the ER with a gunshot wound."

"Don't get snarky sweetie." They both laugh. "You want anything? Some tequila? Blow? I've probably got some vicodin somewhere."

"Fuckstick, hurry up and get this over with."

It hurts like a son of a bitch and Wade wishes he'd taken Weas up on his offer of drugs or alcohol. Everything is slick and sticky from Wade's blood.

"Sorry the stitches look shitty."

"They're keeping me together, I don't give a rats ass if they look nice."

Weasel tapes some gauze onto Wade's shoulder. "I've gotta get back to the bar." He leaves before Wade can say anything.

Wade riffles through his duffle bag that he'd left at Sister Margaret's before going out. He pulls out clean clothes and he's careful as he bends and stretches to pull them on. He shoves his weapons and grimy suit into the duffle.

"Thanks, Weas." Wade mumbles as he walks past the bar, duffle over his left shoulder.

\--

Wade tries to hide the fact that he'd gone out on a job from Peter. He knows about Wade’s suit and the weapons, but Wade still leaves the duffle bag in the trunk when he gets home.

The kid had told him that he wasn't afraid of him, but Wade's not entirely convinced. The secret stays a secret for all of ten minutes after he enters the door.

Peter's on him immediately, he pulls Wade into a bone crushing hug. He was already trying so hard to ignore the pain and not let Peter smell or feel it, but the sudden pressure on his ribs and shoulder shock him. He jerks away from Peter.

"Wade? What's wrong?"

"S'nothing, baby boy, I'm okay."

"Are you hurt? I can feel,"

Wade cuts him off, "I'm fine." Wade sinks down onto the couch, and tries to ignore the pain.

"You're not fine, Wade. What happened?"

"Peter, I'm not… I'm fine. Okay? Just drop it."

Peter sits, pressed into the arm of the couch as far from Wade as he possibly can be while still being on the couch.

"I'm not going to just drop it. It hurts, you're hurt. I can feel it, smell it. Wade, please just tell me what happened."

"I fucked up." Wade mumbles.

"What?" He can hear the confusion in Peter's voice.

Wade shakes his head, tries to take a deep breath--motherfucker that hurts--and then speaks, "I, uh, I needed a distraction so I took a couple merc jobs. First one was a piece of fucking cake. Second one… well it was more like a hobo shitting in your shoes."

Peter stays silent, waiting for Wade to continue.

"There were only supposed to be three people there, I think it was fourteen or, maybe fifteen… I didn't quite get the chance to properly count them all."

"Did you… kill them all?" Peter doesn't sound scared.

"Yeah, I did."

"They hurt you though?"

"My gun jammed, one of the fuckers slammed me into a wall, hard enough that the plaster started to crack. I'm not sure how many, but I know I've got at least a couple cracked ribs."

"Is that all that happened?" Wade can hear, smell and feel the fucking concern and it makes his heart ache, in a good way; Peter fucking cares about him, for real.

Wade shakes his head, "I… I got shot."

"Shot? What? Where?"

"It's okay, baby boy. I got it taken care of. I'm fine."

Peter slides across the couch, but doesn't touch Wade. "I don't want to hurt you, where?"

Wade pulls the collar of his shirt down exposing the edge of the gauze. "My shoulder, it's fine though. Got the bullet taken out and I got stitched up. I'm okay, Peter. Worse has happened to me."

"You're gonna be okay, though? Like for real?"

"Yes, baby. I'll be okay. Sore for a while, but I'll be okay." Wade realizes a second later that he called Peter, baby--not baby boy, it seems somehow more intimate.

If Peter notices it, he doesn’t say anything about it.

"I love you, Wade."

"Love you too, Petey."

\--

Wade wakes up around ten am, he's a little bit annoyed that Peter didn't wake him up before leaving for school.

Wade sighs and heads for the shower, it's his thirty sixth birthday and he has nothing planned. He wonders if Peter remembers, neither have mentioned Wade's impending birthday.

He doesn't want a party, hell he doesn't really have any friends, Dopinder, who's still going to be locked up for quite a few years, and Weasel are pretty much it. Gemma too, but can you really invite your real estate agent slash ex-fuck buddy to your birthday party? Once upon a time he'd considered Vaness his friend, more honestly, but that was a long time ago. He has no family other than Peter. No point in having a party, but he hopes to spend time with Peter.

The hours drag on as Wade waits for Peter to get home. He's bored, normally he'd have something to do, but nothing interests him today.

Shortly after school ends, he gets a text from Peter.

2:44 pm - Petey  
I'm going to be late, I have to stay late to work on a chem. project. Should he home by four. Sorry.

Wade can't lie and say that he's not a little bit--a lot upset, but can you blame him? It's his first birthday he would be spending with Peter. The first birthday he'd really be spending with anyone in years.

2:46 pm - Wade  
Not a problem, see you when you get home. Let me know if you need a ride.

Peter doesn't respond to his message.

Wade tries to distract himself with a movie, then a book, then he cleans the bathrooms. He glances at the clock on the bathroom wall, four fifteen. Peter said he would be home by now… soon. Wade was hopeful, it was still relatively early and it was friday, no need for anyone to be going to bed early.

It's almost dinner time, he decides to make one of his favorites, tacos. Everyone one loves tacos, and Wade knows how to make really good tacos.

Four thirty comes and goes, but Wade is too focused on cooking to notice.

The tacos are done just before five, Wade doesn't want to seem pushy or anything, but he decides to text Peter anyway. He's almost an hour late. Wade's trying not to worry.

4:57 pm - Wade  
You gonna need a ride, Petey-pie? I'm more than happy to come get ya. It's getting kinda late and dinner is ready.

Peter doesn't respond, again.

Wade really starts to worry, what if something happened? What if Peter's finally decided he doesn't want to be around him anymore and he's running away? What if Peter has been kidnapped? What if he was in an accident?

Fuck. Calm down. He's busy with a school project.

Maybe he's got a girlfriend… or maybe a boyfriend? Wade tries not to dwell on those thoughts. He really can't be mad if Peter is in a relationship, he's a teenager and he shouldn't have to wait to turn eighteen to finally be with someone--with Wade.

Wade's too nervous to eat the food he cooked, he puts it all into the proper containers and shoves it into the fridge.

Five thirty Wade tries calling Peter, his phone goes straight to voicemail.

Maybe he forgot to charge it and it ran outta juice? But, Peter always keeps a charger in his backpack. Maybe he forgot it?

Six o'clock passes and Wade is trying to talk himself out of getting in his car and going out to search for Peter.

He can't do this anymore. At six forty Wade is slipping on his shoes and grabbing his keys when the front door finally opens.

"Where the hell were you?"

"I told you, I had to work on a chem. project and that I'd be late."

"You said four… it's almost seven… fuck Peter, I thought something happened to you." He can't help the fear and anger, he couldn't lose Peter.

"I'm fine. It took longer than I expected, I'm sorry."

"You were so busy that you had to shut your phone off?" He can feel the anger bubbling up, overpowering the fear, he doesn't want to be mad at Peter, but he is mad.

"I didn't… my phone died."

"Fuck it, I made dinner, I'm sure you didn't eat, I'll reheat it." Peter doesn't immediately follow Wade. "Let's go."

"I don't know why you're so upset. I had to finish the project."

"Upset? I'm not upset." Wade pulls containers out of the fridge as he speaks.

"Wade, don't lie to me. I could smell how pissed off you are as soon as I opened the door."

"Do you even fucking realize… no, nevermind. Eat your tacos and then go to bed." Wade's not hungry anymore, hasn't been for hours. He stomps out of the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom, he slams the door behind him, not caring that he's acting like a petulant child.

Today has turned out to be the shittiest birthday Wade's had in years.

\--

Twenty minutes pass and Wade starts to calm down, he shouldn't have reacted that way. Peter didn't do anything wrong. Not really, he didn't know it was Wade's birthday and he didn't know his chem. project was going to take so long.

Wade crawls into bed, wanting to fall asleep and forget everything.

Wade's never cared that someone forgot his birthday, he hadn't had a birthday party since he was maybe five. The only time anyone really remembered his birthday since then was when he turned thirteen and still didn't have a soulmark.

\--

Wade's thirteenth birthday was a shitshow. All day long at school the kids pestered him about what his mark was. He tried ignoring them, but when he didn't answer they would shove him, or call him names.

Things escalated as the school day went on; Wade got angry and ended up beating a kid up who was calling him a freak. He broke the kids nose and fractured his collarbone by slamming the boy into a locker.

Wade was subsequently expelled. The school was exceptionally strict when it came to violence.

His father was already drunk when the school called him to come pick-up Wade.

Wade got a beating and expulsion as gifts for his thirteenth birthday.

\--

For a long time after he was expelled, Wade was angry, he thought he was broken, he was beaten at home and he had no friends. For a long time, Wade thought about dying, and then when Special Forces recruited him, he thought that would be his way to die without doing it himself.

\--

Wade looks at the clock on his nightstand, 11:07. He must've fallen asleep. He sits up, his door is still shut. Peter hadn't tried to come talk to him. His stomach growls, fuck, he should've eaten earlier.

The living room and kitchen lights are still on. Maybe Peter forgot to shut them off? Maybe he's still awake? Wade can't hear him, but he can faintly hear the tv.

He stops in the living room doorway, Peter is lying on the couch, curled in on himself, a rerun of House MD playing on the tv. He must've gone and changed his clothes at some point, he's in plaid pajama pants and has one of Wade's shirts on, it's old and well worn and Peter's positively swimming in it.

When the hell did he steal that? Wade can't stop himself from smiling, something deep inside him is immensely pleased that Peter is wearing his clothes.

Wade's smile falters when he sees the way Peter's face is flushed, his nose is red and his cheeks appear to have dried tears on them.

Good job idiot, you made him fucking cry, again.

He steps into the room, picks up the remote and turns the tv off. Wade kneels in front of the couch, "Peter? C'mon wake up, baby boy." Wade places his hand on Peter's arm, trying not to startle him.

Wade could easily pick him up and carry him up to his room, but he doesn't want Peter to wake up on the way there and freak out. It happened once before and Wade still feels bad.

"Daddy?" Peter's voice is soft and thick with sleep.

"Yeah, baby boy. Let's get you up to bed, okay?"

Peter reaches for Wade, pulling him forward.

Wade wraps his arms around Peter and lifts him, “I’m gonna carry you up to bed, okay baby boy?”

His arms wrap tightly around Wade, his head on Wade’s chest. Peter’s nose is pressed against Wade’s neck. Wade can feel Peter scenting him, breathing in deeply. He nuzzles against Wade’s neck and mumbles a quiet, “Okay, daddy.”

Wade makes it halfway up the steps when Peter speaks again, “I wanna sleep with you, daddy… ‘m sorry I made you mad.”

He continues up the steps towards Peter’s room, “I’m not mad anymore, baby. It’s okay.”

Peter left his door open, thankfully, Wade doesn’t have to try to open it while still holding him. He tries to lay Peter down on the bed, but he clings to Wade.

“Don’t leave me.” His voice is soft and sleepy and Wade can’t resist. He still feels kind of shitty from earlier and maybe some cuddling will help.

“I won’t leave you, baby boy. You can let go, I’m not going anywhere.”

Peter lets go of Wade and slides under the blankets, he looks like he’s almost back to sleep already.

Wade sits on the side of the bed--unsure, he wants to stay he really does, but something in the back of his mind is nagging, telling him to leave.

But maybe he can stay, at least be close to Peter, he’s grateful that he’d bought Peter a king size bed when they moved in, he can stay close, but not too close.

As if Peter could hear Wade’s thoughts, “C’mere.” His fingers wrap around Wade’s bicep and pull gently.

Wade lies back against the pillows, surrounded by Peter’s scent.

“Wade, please, come here.” Peter’s not exactly in the middle of the bed, near enough, his fingers are still wrapped around Wade’s arm.

He scoots closer and Peter’s head is immediately on his chest, “Thank you.” He rubs his cheek against the soft cotton of Wade’s t-shirt.

Sleepiness and contentment fills the room and Wade feels like he’s drowning in it, but it’s so good. He’s glad to stay, that he doesn't let his thoughts ruin this for himself.

Maybe his birthday was shitty, but at least it’s ending nicely.

Wade falls asleep with a smile on his face.

\--

He wakes up with the sun on his face and Peter's lips on him, pressing soft lingering kisses along the column of his throat. The sun is warm and too bright but Wade feels too good to care.

Peter's pressed flush against Wade, arm across him, fingers pressing gently--carefully into his ribs. He tries to ignore the fact that he can feel how hard Peter is, but more so how hard he is.

"I love you." The words are whispered against Wade's skin in-between kisses.

"Mm, I love you too, baby boy." Wade's voice is deep and rough from sleep and it seems to startle Peter slightly.

He lifts his head to look at Wade, his eyes are wide and Wade wants to kiss him. But before Wade can move, Peter leans down and presses his lips to Wade's.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday."

Wade shakes his head, he scoots his way up the bed so he's sitting propped against the pillows and headboard. Peter is still pressed against him, Wade's arms are wrapped around him. "No, I'm sorry for acting like a fucking baby. I just… I wanted to spend my birthday with you and,"

"What? Your birthday? No, I'm so stupid." Peter interrupts, he pulls himself out of Wade's arms, his legs are tucked underneath him--he's kneeling on the bed.

"You're not stupid, Peter. It's okay, really. I understand, you were busy." Peter looks like he might cry, "Don't cry, baby boy." Wade pulls Peter forward, into his arms again.

"But, I forgot your birthday. You didn't forget my birthday." Peter hides his face against Wade's chest, "I'm a horrible mate."

Wade almost doesn't hear it, Peter's voice muffled by Wade's shirt. "No, no, Peter. Don't say that. You are not a horrible mate. Look at me."

Peter slowly lifts his head, tears shining in his eyes, but not quite falling yet.

"Peter, it's okay. I promise. I've had plenty of shitty birthdays, but we'll have plenty more that we can spend together."

"You remembered my birthday."

"Yes, I did, and it's okay that you forgot. You're still here, and I'm still here and that's all that matters." Wade pauses, "I overreacted, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… I should've just told you, reminded you. Hell, you told me every day for a month when your birthday was coming up."

"I'm sorry I made you mad."

"I'm sorry I got mad." Wade kisses Peter's forehead, then the tip of his nose, the corner of his mouth. "I love you, Peter."

"I love you too, Wade." Peter's face is buried in Wade's neck, and as much as he doesn't want to move, he did just wake up and Wade has to piss.

"Let me up, Petey."

Peter rolls off of and away from Wade.

Wade is in the doorway when Peter speaks, "You will come back, right?"

He turns to look at Peter, he's sprawled across the bed, the pillow Wade was just laying on is in his arms, held tightly against his chest. "Unless you want me to go make breakfast, I'm just going to the bathroom."

Peter nods, "I'm not hungry, I want you to come back."

"I will, sweetheart." Wade heads downstairs to his bathroom, he wants to brush his teeth too.

\--

Upon re-entering Peter's room, Wade can immediately tell that Peter got up. He probably used the bathroom, maybe brushed his teeth too. But despite Peter being in pretty much the same position as when Wade left, his clothes are different.

"Why'd you change?" The words leave his mouth before his brain can agree to it or even process the way he feels.

"Oh um, I just thought…" Peter pauses, he looks uncertain, "youwouldn'twantmewearingyourclothes." Peter's blushing and his words are mumbled and rushed, but Wade understands.

Wade sits on the bed next to Peter, there is a pillow pressed against Wade's hip and Peter is still laying and definitely looking everywhere except at Wade. "You can wear whatever you want, Peter."

"I thought you might be mad that I took it."

"No, I'm not mad. You can wear my clothes all you want."

"It just… it just smelled like you and I know that's stupid 'cause we use the same laundry detergent and brand of body wash, but it helps me sleep and," Peter rambles on, and on.

"Baby boy, stop. I get it." Wade interrupts.

"You really don't mind?"

"I encourage it. I like you wearing my clothes."

Peter smiles, sits up, moves the pillow from between them and wraps his arms around Wade. He rests his head on Wade's shoulder. The movement makes him seem so young, Wade's stomach rolls at the thought.

"You've been having trouble sleeping?" Wade asks. Peter said his scent helps him sleep.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I guess."

"Is it school, are you having trouble in class, with your homework?"

"Not really, no."

"C'mon, baby, talk to me, what's wrong?"

"It's uh... it's not the classes or the homework. Um," Peter swallows audibly. "Kids are just assholes."

Fuck. Petey-pie is getting bullied? Wade wants to hit something--someone.

"Baby boy, are you being bullied?"

"Well... not exactly."

"What do you mean by not exactly?" Wade tips his head so his cheek is touching the top of Peter's head.

"It's just that… my um marks are visible and people keep asking about them."

"Asking about me, you mean?"

"I guess so, yeah. I mean they don't suspect it's your or whatever. But they all want to know if I found my mate… and it hurts that I can't say… but I understand why, even though I want to. And they kept asking and I tried to ignore them, tried to lie to them. I even tried to tell them that I just couldn’t talk about it--that I didn't want to. But they don’t stop and it hurts, Wade it hurts so much.” Peter's sentences are choppy and jumbled together, but Wade understands.

Fucking shit. Wade wanted to hit the kids that were being dicks to Peter, now he wants to hit himself.

Wade doesn’t know what to say, what to do, so he stays silent. He wants to apologize, wants to tell Peter that he can tell everyone about them. But he knows that an apology isn’t going to make everything better. And they cannot tell anyone.

Peter doesn’t say anything either, Wade almost thinks he’s fallen asleep, but knows that isn’t the case when Peter takes Wade’s hand into his own, lacing their fingers together.

“It’s my fault?” The question is rhetorical, Wade doesn’t expect an answer nor does he want one. He already knows the answer.

“Don’t blame yourself, please.”

“It is though, it is my fault. If I wasn’t… I just keep hurting you.”

Peter shakes his head, the movement is jarring against Wade’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself. You being my soulmate isn’t you hurting me, it isn’t. I just, I just want them to stop pestering me.”

“Tell them.”

What? No, Peter can’t tell them.

“What?”

“I mean, don’t tell them, but tell them.” He’s not making any sense, Wade's aware of that.

“You’re not making sense, what do you mean, tell them?”

“I mean, tell them you found your mate, don’t tell them about me. Don’t give them details. But tell them that you found your mate, your mate who will kick their fucking asses if they don’t leave you alone.”

Peter laughs, it’s small and quiet, but it’s a laugh. “You can’t beat them up.”

“If they’re hurting you, I can and I will. If I knew you wouldn’t get mad at me, I’d kick my own ass for hurting you.”

“Don’t, please.”

“Of course not.”

They’re silent for a moment, “If you’ve been having trouble sleeping, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Nothing you do is going to bother me, baby boy.”

“I was just so busy with my homework and we weren’t spending any time together and I thought… I don’t know what I thought, really. I guess I was overwhelmed, I should’ve told you though.”

Wade kisses the top of Peter’s head, but doesn’t speak, intent on letting Peter continue to vent, the kid needs it.

“I stole your shirt so that I could be close to you, feel close to you, without bothering you.”

“Baby boy, you could’ve just come to me.”

“I-I know, I wanted to, but…” Peter sits up, he’s looking into Wade’s eyes, “I think, subconsciously I was distancing myself from you s-s-so that it felt like I didn’t have a mate. And I know that’s fucked up and stupid and then taking your shirt becaues it smelled like you is a fucking contridiction, but I thought if it felt like I didn’t have a mate it wouldn’t hurt so much.”

Peter sounds like he might be crying, but Wade’s not really sure, because he himself is crying.

“You wanted to feel like you didn’t have a mate? Why? Why would you want that? I lived that for years, it hurt every day. Why would you think that it wouldn’t hurt?”

“I don’t know, Wade. I don’t know. I thought that if it hurt then I wouldn’t want you anymore and that the pain would be worth it. Because the pain of wanting you and not being able to have you is worse. And those fucking kids that keep asking about my mate, about you, are a constant reminder that I can’t have you.”

“You have me. You have me, Peter, and I’m not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you.”

“But I don’t have you, I can’t go on dates with you, or hold your hand in public. Can’t kiss you wherever or whenever I want. When we do go somewhere together one or both of us has to make sure our marks are covered, I want to be able to show them off. Wade, everyone thinks you're my dad.”

Wade opens his mouth to speak, but Peter continues before he can say anything, “Wade, I want you. I want everyone to know that you’re mine and I’m yours. And yeah, you can call me a horny sixteen year old, but I want to have sex with you. I want to be close to you that way. Kissing you is good, and cuddling and just smelling you is good. But I want more, and I know you do too and I know why you don’t want to now. But that doesn’t make me want you any less.”

Something inside him snaps or maybe clicks together. Wade surges forward and crashes his lips into Peter’s. It’s rough, messy, teeth clatter and their tongues slide together and Wade thinks the force may have split his lip. But it feels right, feels perfect even.

Peter pulls away first, and it takes every ounce of willpower Wade has to not chase Peter’s lips.

“Baby boy, you okay?”

“No.”

“No? What’s wrong?” Wade can feel the panic rising inside himself.

“I don’t want to stop.”

Wade smiles, “We don’t have to stop.”

“But,”

Wade silences him with a chaste kiss. “We don’t have to stop. If you don’t want to stop, then we won't. I don’t want to stop either, you know that.”

Peter bites his lip, “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, baby boy, I’m sure, so very sure. Are you sure?”

“Yes, daddy.” Peter sounds so sure, and Wade can see a glint of something in the kids eye as he calls him daddy.

Peter pulls his own shirt over his head and throws it across the room, then tugs at the hem of Wade’s. He nods and Peter pulls Wade’s shirt up, the motion is fast and the material gets stuck around Wade’s head. They’re both laughing, and Wade feels so content, so right.

He gets the shirt off and it joins Peter’s across the room, “I love you.” He pulls Peter on top of him, his thighs pressed tightly against Wade’s as he straddles him. Wade’s face is even with Peter’s chest, he presses a kiss to his sternum.

“I love you too, daddy.” Peter’s head tilts down, and just looks at Wade.

Wade tilts his head back and leans up slightly and kisses him again, it’s less forceful, but still intense. He can feel the swell of Peter’s cock against his belly, he knows Peter can feel his rapidly hardening length against his ass.

“Mm, I want you, Wade. Please.” Peter rolls his hips as he speaks, Wade can hear the whininess entering his tone.

"I know, baby boy, I know." Wade kisses him again, it’s slower, softer and much sweeter.

Peter tries to deepen the kiss, rush it. Wade doesn’t allow it, “Slow, we have all the time in the world.”

“But,”

“No, we have time. And I want… God, I want to savour it, baby.” As much as Wade wants fast and dirty and ferocious, he would rather go slowly. He doesn’t want to hurt Peter or rush into something Peter will regret later. If or more so when they do this, Wade wants everything to be just right--perfect. Wade wants to be able to remember every detail out of fear more than anything, he’s afraid that once it happens, it will never happen again.

Peter presses his lips back against Wade’s, slow and soft, their lips move together, but their tongues stay in their own mouths. He pulls away after a few moments, “Wade,” There is a seriousness to his tone as he speaks.

Wade fears that he’s changed his mind.

Stupid.

Peter wants this, wants him, but maybe the hesitation from Wade, the slow pacing has changed Peter’s mind.

“I want to,” Peter shakes his head and averts his eyes, Wade can feel the buzz of anxiety in the air, the scent is too faint for him to detect. “I want you to,” Peter chews on the corners of his lips, if he couldn’t feel it, Wade would now know that Peter is anxious.

No, no, no, no, fuck.

“What do you want, Peter?” He’s still in Wade’s lap. Wade rubs Peter’s back, trying to soothe him.

“Iwantyoutotakemyvirginity.” Peter’s not looking at him, his voice is soft and his words are rushed.

His virginity? Of course, Wade knows that Peter is a virgin, but hearing it spoken out loud makes it more real somehow.

“You want me inside of you?” The words that Wade speaks are not the words he’d meant to speak. He’d meant to, once again, ask if Peter was sure, but once the words leave his mouth he's glad they're what came out. Peter needs a more direct approach, otherwise Wade couldn't have been sure of his answer not with all the anxiety coming from him.

Peter hesitates and Wade immediately comes to the conclusion that Peter does not want this, any of it.

"I, um, yes."

"No." Wade shakes his head, the movement is small.

"But, I want to."

"You're not ready for that."

"I'm just… afraid."

"Why are you afraid? What are you afraid of?" Wade can think of so many reasons for Peter to be afraid.

Peter hides his face in Wade's shoulder, "Isn't it going to hurt?"

"If we go slow and properly prep, it can feel very good, baby boy. I won't lie to you and say it won't be uncomfortable at first, but it should never hurt."

"What if…" Peter's still speaking into Wade's shoulder, he sounds afraid.

It makes Wade sick to his stomach. Peter doesn't need to be afraid of him. Wade knows Peter's fear isn't of him, but that knowledge doesn't deter the uneasiness in Wade's mind.

"What if what? Talk to me, Petey. Tell me what you're thinking."

"What if I don't, um, like it?"

Oh, that's not quite what Wade expected.

"You're afraid you won't like bottoming?"

Peter nods against Wade, the movement is small and feels uncertain.

"That's okay. You don't have to bottom. You don't have to do anything you're uncomfortable with."

"I want to try though."

"And we can, but not now." Wade kisses the side of Peter's head.

"But I wanted to,"

Wade interrupts, "We don't have to rush, we've got the rest of our lives, baby boy." Wade wants to, fuck does he want to. But now isn't the right time, he doesn't want to hurt Peter in any way and rushing into this could--would hurt him.

Peter swallows audibly, "I know we have time, it's just that I forgot your birthday, and I wanted that to be my present for you." Peter's voice is so soft, Wade barely hears him.

"Peter, look at me please." Wade gently nudges Peter to try to get him to sit up.

He tries to look away from Wade, but Wade stops him, fingers on his jaw stop him from turning away.

"Peter, you don't have to give yourself to me as a fucking birthday present. Even if you never wanted to give yourself to me that way, it wouldn't change how I feel about you. You are my mate, and I love you so very much."

And he does love Peter, the time they've known each other feels so much longer than the reality of it. They are soulmates, that bond transcends everything. It makes everything feel so much more intense. The bond helps them understand and know each other, it's a connection that Wade thought he would never experience.

There have been moments of doubt in Wade's mind, moments where he thought the bond was controlling them, that it made the love he feels forged. As if the bond is forcing them to love each other. But that can't be true, the soulmate bond does help mates understand each other, it draws them together and keeps them close. But there are no hormones released into their bloodstreams, no thick cloying sweet pseudo love pheromones released in their scents.

The bond helps build on natural feelings, it doesn't create them out of nowhere. Intensifies, but doesn't invent.

"I love you too." He can see the love in Peter's eyes as he speaks, but he can now smell and feel Peter's fear under the heavy scent of arousal. "But, Wade, I still want to… I want you." Peter presses against Wade, he's still hard, still interested.

Wade has a better idea, "Do you want to top?" Wade lifts his hips against Peter, letting him know he's definitely still turned on.

"What? You want me to… do that?"

"If that's what you want, then yes."

"But, I'm smaller and younger and don't know what I'm doing."

"Your age and size don't matter. And what you don't know, I can teach you, baby."

"You'll help me, daddy?"

Wade nods, "With anything."

Peter's fingers trail down Wade's chest, brushing lightly against his nipple.

Wade's always been sensitive, the sound he makes is breathy and higher pitched than he would've expected.

Peter kisses at Wade's neck, one hand resting on his hip, the other moves back up his chest to caress the hardened peak of his nipple. "You like that, daddy?"

Wade grinds up against Peter, hands grabbing onto his ass. "Yeah, baby boy. Daddy likes that."

He leans in and licks at Peter's nipple, hoping Peter likes it.

"Oh, daddy, do that again."

Wade flattens his tongue and licks broadly over it before gently sucking. The noise Peter makes goes straight to Wade's dick. He moves onto Peter's other nipple, this time scraping his teeth against the hardened nub. Peter's fingers abandon Wade's chest, finding their way into his hair, twisting and tugging.

He moans against Peter's chest, the vibration of it causes Peter to moan and grind down onto Wade.

"You like that too, baby boy?" Wade's voice is rough and low.

"I wanna touch you, daddy." Peter's tone is whiny and breathy, Wade fucking loves it.

"Where do you wanna touch daddy?"

Peter bites on his bottom lip, tugs at Wade's hair with one hand and the other slides down the front of Wade's boxers, "I wanna touch you here."

"Go ahead, you can touch me, baby."

The touch is light and cautious.

"C'mon, Peter, you can do more than that."

Wade attaches himself to Peter's neck, nipping and kissing. Peter's fingers slip under the thin cotton of his boxers, his fingers wrap around Wade's length. His grip is firm and more certain.

"Mm, feel how hard you make daddy?" Wade's teeth scrape against Peter's collarbone as he speaks.

"Can you, um, can you get naked?" The uncertainty in the way Peter speaks nags at Wade, but he doesn't stop, hoping that Peter will tell him to stop if he's uncomfortable.

"Do you want to get naked too, Petey?"

"Yes."

"Get up for a second."

Peter climbs off the bed, he pushes his boxers down and steps out of them. Wade's gaze is drawn to Peter's cock, flushed red and hard leaving glistening wet streaks on Peter's stomach.

Wade shoves his own boxers down and kicks them off the end of the bed.

"So hard for me, baby boy. Can daddy touch your cock?"

"Please, daddy." Peter is chewing on his bottom lip again, but this time Wade knows it's not an anxious thing, it's more anticipation.

Wade suddenly decides he doesn't want to just touch, he leans across the bed, kisses the black circle on Peter's hip, licks at the sticky precum on his belly before sucking the head of Peter's cock into his mouth.

Peter whines, his fingers are instantly in Wade's hair, simultaneously tugging and trying to prevent Wade from moving away.

He grabs onto Peter's hips, fingers digging into his hip bones. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough for Peter to loosen his grip on Wade's head. Wade wonders if his grip is hard enough to mark Peter, small dark fingerprint bruises on pale skin.

Wade flattens his tongue sucking gently, taking more and more into his mouth.

"Fuck, daddy."

Wade doesn't stop his descent until Peter's cock hits the back of his throat and coarse hair touches his nose.

He swallows around Peter. "Fuck, daddy, please." Wade loves that he's causing Peter so much pleasure.

Peter's hips keep trying to push foward, fuck into Wade's mouth.

Not yet.

Wade's grip on his hips keeps him still, he sucks harder. He wants to make Peter come, but not just yet. He's enjoying this far too much for it to end so quickly.

His own cock is leaking against his stomach. He wants Peter to touch him--fuck him, but doesn't want the wanton noises coming from Peter to stop.

Wade swirls his tongue around the head of Peter's leaking cock.

"Daddy." Peter drags out the word, his voice is high and whiny. "Wade, you gotta stop. I'm gonna come.." Peter's voice is strained. His fingers flex in Wade's hair, trying to pull him away.

Wade knows why Peter wants him to stop, but Wade doesn't. He's decided he's going to make Peter come in his mouth, and he's going to swallow every last drop. He knows that Peter will think that if he comes then they're done, but Wade is far from done with his baby boy.

"No, baby boy, not yet." Wade shakes his head slightly, takes all of Peter's cock back into his mouth, licking and sucking, swirling his tongue, ignoring Peter's pleas. Wade releases Peter's hips, he immediately starts thrusting into Wade's more than willing mouth. Chasing the heat and friction. His thrusts are short and fast and a bit unsteady, if Wade had to guess he'd say Peter's fighting against himself, wanting to come and not wanting to stop.

Wade pulls off with an audible pop, "Fuck my mouth, baby, you can come." He doesn't give Peter a chance to respond, takes his cock back into his mouth. He lets saliva drip from his lips as he slides them down over Peter's length. It's wet and sloppy and Wade loves it. Loves the way Peter is responding.

Peter can't control himself, one hand grips Wade where his neck and shoulder meet. His grip is firm but not painful, Wade knows he won't have a bruise, he wants one though. Wants Peter to mark him. Peter's other hand is on Wade's face, fingers trailing across his cheek. His thumb glides across Wade's bottom lip as it's stretched around his cock. Peter's moans are getting louder, Wade's glad Peter isn't trying to hide the sounds he's making.

Peter's hips stutter then still, warmth floods Wade's mouth, he swallows it all, sucking the head slightly, trying to get it all. He trails small kisses and little kitten licks up Peter's stomach and chest, stopping to suck at his nipples briefly.

"Fuck, baby boy." Wade can't wait for Peter to fuck him.

He bites at Peter's collarbone on the opposite side of the katanas, leaving a small mark. It might not be visible, but they will know it's there, know that Peter is his.

He covers Peter's mouth with his own, tongue sliding inside, tasting and feeling. He knows that Peter can taste himself on Wade's tongue.

Peter pulls away first, "Why'd you do that, daddy?"

"What do you mean, Petey? Why'd I do what?" Wade feigns ignorance.

"Why'd you make me come?" Peter sounds petulant and whiny, not in the way Wade likes.

"Don't be a brat, Peter." Wade's tone is teasing and light.

"You didn't even get to… and I wanted to…" Peter huffs.

"You think this is over, baby boy? No, daddy's not done with you yet."

"But,"

Wade kisses him, "Sweetheart, you're sixteen." Wade's fingers brush against Peter's spent cock, he can feel a small twitch the contact causes, "You should know the teenage refractory period is… exceptionally quick." Wade nips at the katanas on Peter's chest before speaking again. "And by causing you to orgasm once, you should be able to last longer once you get cock inside me."

"You still want to?" Peter's cheeks are flushed, eyes are wide and glazed, post orgasm looks wonderful on him, last time Wade didn't get to see it. It was dark and late and they both fell asleep quickly afterwards.

"Abso-fucking-lutely, Petey-pie." Wade pulls Peter down onto the bed with him. Wade takes Peter's hand into his, wraps his and Peter's fingers around his erection. "See, baby boy, daddy's still nice and hard for you."

Peter rubs the tip with his thumb, spreading precum around and down the shaft.

"Shit, baby, wait."

Peter tries to stroke Wade's cock, Wade's grip tightens over Peter's fingers to stop him.

"Baby boy, wait."

"Daddy, I wanna make you feel good." Wade carefully pulls his and Peter's fingers away.

"I know, sweetheart, I know, but first I need to know two things. Do you have lube in here? And do you have any condoms?"

Peter's cheeks flush darker than before, "Uh, y-yeah, I have lube in the drawer. But, why would I have condoms? Why do we even need one?"

"Condoms are very important, Petey."

"I'm a virgin though, and I can't like… get you pregnant."

"Just 'cause I don't have a baby oven doesn't mean you can just go 'round filling me up with your cake batter."

Peter giggles and Wade thinks it's the most adorable thing Peter's done yet. "Did you just call my spunk cake batter?"

"Sure did, Petey-pie, and it's my favorite cake flavor." Wade licks his lips and makes a loud smacking sound, causing Peter to giggle again. "Sit tight, baby boy, I'll be right back with a condom." He presses a quick kiss to the corner of Peter's mouth and is out of the room before Peter can say anything.

Wade's halfway down the steps when he hears Peter running to catch up with him. He stops, "I told you to wait."

"I wanted to come with you." Peter's at the top of the steps now.

"You missing daddy already, baby?" Wade shakes his head and smiles, turning toward Peter who seems to be frozen in place. "C'mere." Wade holds his hand out for Peter to take.

Peter scrambles down the steps and laces his fingers with Wade's. As they descend the steps he thinks that this should feel awkward, walking through the house naked, cock hard against his belly, Peter's hand in his… but it doesn't, it feels natural and right. Like this is how their life is supposed to be.

Upon entering Wade's room Peter pushes Wade down onto the bed and climbs on top of him.

"Daddy?"

"Baby boy?"

"Can we stay in here?" Peter lays against him, he nudges Wade's neck with his nose, audibly inhaling. "It smells like you."

Wade tilts his head giving Peter more room to scent him. "We can go wherever you want, Petey." He wraps his arms around Peter, as much as he wants more to happen, he's perfectly content to just lay here and hold Peter.

Peter shifts against Wade, "Wade?"

Wade has to bite back a moan, their cocks rub together when Peter moves, "Yeah?"

"Can we still…?"

He can feel Peter's cock filling against him, "You wanna fuck me?"

Peter licks Wade's neck, "Please."

Wade shivers, his hands trail down Peter's back until he's gently cupping his ass. "Grab the lube and a condom out of the drawer, sweetheart."

Peter leans across the bed, hips held tightly by Wade, and grabs the bottle and a condom, he sits up causing Wade's cock to press against his ass, he places the lube on Wade's chest, the condom is discarded onto the bed next to Wade.

"I need you to kneel on the bed in-between my legs." Wade spreads his legs and Peter slips into a kneeling position between them. He grabs a few of the pillows and shoves them under himself, to help keep his hips elevated. He could've just flipped himself onto his knees and elbows and shoved his ass in the air for Peter, but he's pretty sure that Peter will want the reassurance of face to face contact. And Wade can't lie, he wants to be able to watch Peter's face during.

Peter's expression is eager, there's a slight edge of apprehension though. "Now what? I tried to… uh, look up stuff, but it made me uncomfortable."

Fuck, did Peter look up porn?

"Did you go on pornhub, Petey-pie?" Wade smirks.

"Uh," Peter bites at his lip, cheeks flushing dark again, "Yes."

Wade rubs his calf against the outside of Peter's thigh, "You're okay, baby boy, you can watch porn if you want to. You said it made you uncomfortable? Why? You didn't like any of it?"

"I just don't want to watch it and I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want you, Wade." Peter places his hands on Wade's thighs.

Fine, he'll let it slide… for now. There has to be a reason for Peter being uncomfortable, but Wade's been aroused for far too long to properly focus.

"I uh, you need to get your fingers coated in lube, and then uh, fuck just gimme your hand, baby."

Peter holds his hand up to Wade, he pops the lube open and pours a generous amount into Peter's palm. He spreads the liquid over Peter's fingers then moves his hand down between his legs.

"Don't be afraid of hurting me, okay?"

"I am afraid though, I don't want to do something wrong."

Wade shakes his head against the pillow, "Just do what I say and do what feels right. It'll be okay."

Before Wade can instruct Peter on what to do next, Peter rubs a lube covered fingertip against Wade's hole.

"Shit, baby boy. Feels good, keep doing that for a few seconds, then slowly start to push your finger in."

Peter's fingers flex against Wade's thigh as he keeps rubbing with his other hand like Wade told him. Since Peter seems to be okay on his own Wade lets go of his wrist, choose instead to grip the bedsheets under him.

"Come on, Petey, push your finger inside daddy."

He presses in slowly, cautiously, and despite telling Peter not to worry about hurting him it's been years since Wade's had anything in his ass so he's thankful Peter doesn't just shove his finger in.

Wade grabs the hand on his thigh and brings it up to his chest, urging Peter to touch him. He leans over Wade, finger slowly moving in and out, with his other hand he brushes his thumb across Wade's nipple. Wade groans, "Fuck, baby boy." He can't help himself, as much as he likes doing the fucking, getting fucked is Wade's favorite, he pushes himself down onto Peter's finger.

Peter increases his pace, "Does it feel good, daddy?"

He groans, "Fuck. Yes, baby, get a little more lube and add another finger."

The lube is cold and Wade tries not to react to the cool liquid against his warm skin, he shivers and is instantly covered in goosebumps. Peter fingers nudge against his hole, "You sure you can take both?" Wade can hear the concerned undertone, the smell and the feeling of their combined arousal overpower it though.

Wade pushes down trying to fuck himself on Peter's fingers. "Yes, fuck, yes, yes baby boy. C'mon." Wade's not embarrassed to admit how fucking desperate he is. It's been so long and he's so ready for Petet to fuck him.

The stretch burns, but it's nothing Wade can't handle, nothing he doesn't like.

"Shit, Petey, c'mon, baby boy, fuck daddy with your fingers." Wade tilts his hips up, trying to urge Peter on, trying to help him find Wade's prostate. To show Peter just how good he feels.

Peter's fingers move quickly, but thrust shallowly. He's biting his lip, looks lost in concentration.

"You can go deeper and spread your fingers a little bit, gotta stretch me out real good, baby." Wade can't help but moan as Peter's fingers widen ever so slightly.

Their eyes meet, Peter's gaze is finally lifted from where his fingers are disappearing deeper inside of Wade. "Wade?" He's still thrusting as he speaks.

"Ah, shit." Peter's fingers just barely brush against Wade's prostate. "What's wrong, Peter?"

Peter's fingers are moving erratically, pace quick and deep, but he's unfocused now. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Uh, f-fuck. You're doing perfectly, Petey. Perfect, you can do this. Mm--son of bitch--you're doing so good, baby boy. So fucking good." His voice is strained and deep.

Peter's fingers are steadily hitting his prostate with each inward stroke.

"I can't, it's too much."

Too much? Wade tries to comprehend how it can be too much for Peter, when he's the one with fingers in his ass.

"Y-y-you want to stop? Oh fuck. We can stop, Peter, I promise if you want to stop we can stop."

"Don't wanna stop, daddy." Peter's voice is getting whiny again.

"What do you want to do, baby boy? Tell daddy what you want."

Suddenly, Peter has a third finger inside Wade, Peter's hands are small but the stretch is obvious. His fingers curl inside Wade, rubbing against his prostate.

Wade's hips involuntarily lift off the bed, wanting more. His cock is throbbing against his stomach, steadily oozing sticky precum all over himself. He resists the urge to take his dick in his hand and stroke until he comes.

"I want you, daddy. I wanna be inside you now." Peter's whining and biting at his lip, his eyes are locked onto Wade's. He notices how Peter's shallowly thrusting his hips, searching for some form of contact--friction. Wade suspects Peter doesn't realize he's doing it, his body sort of on autopilot, trying to get the pleasure Peter craves, but is afraid to take.

Wade feels for the discarded condom package, he grabs it and holds it up, "You want daddy to help you, baby boy?"

Peter stills and his expression shifts, "Do we really need it?" His fingers are still inside Wade's ass, the feeling is uncomfortable--no that's not quite right, the fullness is nice and Wade doesn't want it to end, but the stillness is unsettling.

"Yes, Peter we do." They had this talk already, it's important. Safe, sane and consensual. It's all very important to Wade. And maybe some day they'll do this without protection, but for now it's necessary. "Safe sex is just as important as consensual sex. And I made sure to get latex free ones for you, baby boy."

"Latex free, why?"

"Banana allergies are often linked to latex allergies, didn't wanna risk a reaction." Wade has wanted this for so long, he bought the special condoms in case his resolve faltered and this exact situation happened. He hadn't intended to ever even use this particular box of condoms before their expiration date, he was going to wait until Peter was old enough, he really was. Still he'd gone out and bought them just-in-case.

His fingers abruptly leave Wade's body and he grabs the condom out of Wade's hand and rips it open. Peter's hands shake as he rolls the condom on. Wade wonders if it's anticipation or nervousness? He still can't smell or feel anxiety, the scent of arousal is thick and heady, and all Wade can feel is pleasure and his own anticipation.

"What do I do next, daddy?" Peter's hands are on Wade's hips, fingers pressed firmly, thumb covering the black soulmark on Wade's hip.

Fuck, Wade's been touching that soulmark on his own hip since it showed up while touching his own cock, imagining it was his soulmate--he hadn't touched it since he'd met Peter though.

"Scoot closer, baby." Peter scoots in as close as he can. Wade lets his legs fall open, thighs covering Peter's. "Get some more lube."

Peter grabs the bottle and pours it directly onto his cock and Wade's hole.

"Good job, baby boy." Wade reaches down and takes Peter's cock into his hand, presses the head against his hole, "Now push in, slowly."

Peter's hips press forward, the stretch as his cockhead enters Wade is more intense than he expected. 

"Fuck, Peter."

He steadily pushes in, nice and slow just like Wade instructed. Peter's hips are pressed flush against Wade, he starts to pull out, "Shit, Wade."

Wade grabs onto Peter, fingers connect with the warm flesh of Peter's forearm, "Don't move just yet." He needs a second to adjust, it's been so long and even though Wade's okay with a little pain sometimes now is not one of those times.

"D-does it hurt?" Peter's expression is a mixture of worry and holy fuck so good, Wade knows that feeling.

"No, baby boy it doesn't hurt. Just need a second, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

Wade shakes his head against the pillows, "No, baby boy, don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. It's okay, I'm okay. I just haven't done this in a really long time."

Peter bites at his bottom lip, nods his head and stays completely still.

Wade shifts his hips slightly, "Pull almost all the way out, and then push back in again, nice and slow, baby boy."

"Shit." Peter curses as he shifts his hips backward. "Daddy, so tight." He slides back in, slowly, carefully.

Fuck. Wade knows exactly what Peter is feeling right now.

"Good job, baby boy. Keep going."

Peter's thrusts are slow and deep.

"Ah, fuck, Peter." His cock is steadily hitting Wade's prostate. "So fucking good. You can go faster."

He doesn't change his pace.

"C'mon, baby boy, you can fuck daddy better than that." Wade presses down, trying to get Peter to go faster.

His hips move faster, ever so slightly, and Wade feels like he could cry--it's too much and not enough all at once. He doesn't want to overwhelm Peter, but he needs more. Wade rocks his hips downward trying to match Peter's thrusts.

Peter's thrusts are becoming more and more erratic. "Daddy, I'm close."

"Gonna come for daddy, Petey?"

Wade grabs Peter's hands and pulls him forward and kisses him, it's rough and sloppy. He tries to resist the urge to flip them and take control.

Peter is panting and making the most delicious noises, breathy little "Ahs" and he's whining. His face is pressed into Wade's neck.

Suddenly Peter stills and the only sounds left in the room are their combined harsh breathing. Wade knows Peter didn't stop because he's coming. He can't feel it and Peter is far too silent for him to be in the midst of an orgasm.

Wade wraps his arms around Peter but otherwise stays still. "Peter?"

He can feel how fast Peter's heart is beating, the way his breathing is stuttered and quick.

Panic, the word flashes quickly in his mind, but he doesn't smell it or feel it. But still something is wrong.

Wade waits before speaking again, Peter is still hard, still buried deep inside him. "Baby boy? You okay?"

Maybe he's trying not to come… maybe he wants this to last… maybe he's regretting his decision to do this… maybe… maybe… maybe… too many maybes.

"Wade?" Peter interrupts Wade's thoughts, he's whispering against Wade's neck.

"Peter?"

"I'm sorry." Peter shifts, his cock presses against Wade's prostate.

Fuck. He tries not to moan.

"Sorry for what? What's wrong? Talk to me."

Peter pushes himself up off of Wade slightly and starts thrusting again.

Wade has to bite his tongue.

His face is still against Wade's throat, his teeth scrape against Wade's neck, it’s not enough--Wade would rather Peter bite him.

"You're doing so good, baby boy, so fucking good."

“Shit, Wade.” Peter’s thrusts are becoming faster again.

But Wade can't take it anymore, he's trying so hard to let Peter be in control. But he needs more. Wade flips them, Peter's spread out underneath him. His cock still inside Wade, they both moan.

"What..?" Peter starts to ask.

"Shh, baby boy, let daddy take care of you." Wade towers over Peter, he shifts his hips and grabs Peter's hands. "On my hips, Petey, nice and tight." He leans down, brushes his lips against Peter's ear, "I want your handprints on me baby boy." Before Peter can react Wade sits up, lifts his hips and drops himself back down onto Peter's cock. The change in angle is just what Wade needed.

Both groan and Peter grips Wade's hips hard enough to leave bruises, finally.

“Fuck, daddy.” Peter sounds breathless.

Wade shifts his hips, back and forth, before lifting up then back down, fast and hard.

“Gonna come for me, baby boy?” He can feel Peter’s cock pulsing inside him.

“Want you to come too, please.” Peter’s panting and whining. The fingers of his right hand leave Wade’s hip and wrap around his length, “Want you to feel good too.”

Wade’s muscles constrict involuntarily around Peter, his hips lift up chasing Wade as he lifts himself up, “Want me to come with your cock buried in me?”

Peter’s meeting each movement Wade makes, fingers stroking quickly on Wade’s cock, his movements are surprisingly steady. Little “ah’s” and sighs slipping out in between moans of Wade’s name and “daddy”.

It’s been so fucking long, Wade’s not going to last much longer. He wraps his fingers around Peter’s on his shaft, “C’mon, baby boy, come for me.” Wade slides his other hand up Peter’s chest, fingertips brushing against his nipples causing Peter’s to moan and his hips to stutter. Wade’s hand rests against Peter’s throat, not pressing down and constricting airflow, just light pressure from the weight of it.

Peter’s nails bite into the flesh of Wade’s hip, the little shock of pain causes Wade to drop down particularly hard, “Fuck, Peter.” His fingers tighten around Peter’s fingers mid-stroke. He doesn’t lift his hips again, just grinds back and forth, keeping Peter’s cock deep inside him, pressing against his prostate. Heat coils in his stomach, muscles tightening, he’s close. “I’m so fucking close, baby boy.”

Wade feels Peter’s legs bend, feet pressed into the mattress, using as much strength as he can in their current position to thrust up, impossibly deeper, into Wade. And then Wade’s coming, painting Peter’s chest in thick white streaks, even managing to get some onto his chin. “Fuck, shit, baby boy.”

Peter stops thrusting upward, but their fingers don’t stop moving on Wade’s cock, working him through his orgasm. As it begins to subside, Wade is determined to make Peter come now, he fucks himself on Peter’s cock, fast and hard, purposefully clenching his muscles, “C’mon, Petey, come inside me. C’mon, you can do it, baby boy.” Wade doesn’t slow his movements, but he leans down to press his lips to Peter’s, it’s messy and Wade can feel his cum sticking them together, but the sounds Peter is making into the kiss are worth feeling the sticky, cooling cum against his skin.

Peter grabs Wade’s hips, tight, stilling him, his cock pulses inside Wade, he’s coming and Wade’s name is spilling from his mouth.

Wade slides off of Peter, he helps Peter deal with the condom, then pulls him into his arms, “Fuckin’ love you, Petey.” He nuzzles his cheek against the top of Peter’s head.

The room is filled with the overwhelming sent of love, affection and contentment. As thick and choking as the scent is, Wade never wants it to go away.

Peter’s head is on Wade’s chest, they are both sweaty and sticky, and in need of a shower, but neither want to move--happy to just be together for now. “I love you too. I’ll always love you, my mate.”

\--

On Peter’s eighteenth birthday he demands that he and Wade tell everyone, Ned and MJ, Weasel and Al and a few other friends they’d made over the years, that they’re soulmates. No one is surprised and Wade worries that they’d been too obvious.

When Peter is twenty one, barely graduated from college but wanting to take a year off, they have an official bonding ceremony. It’s basically the same as a marriage, but Peter insisted on going traditional, same as his parents and his aunt and uncle. Wade didn’t even try to argue it, he’ll do anything for Peter, always.

At forty five Wade decides it’s time to put katanas away, except for super extra special occasions. He’ll never forget the protests from Peter, “The suit is hot.” “I like that you’re a merc, I like it when you come home from a job, you always fuck me so good after a job.”

At twenty seven Peter asks Wade about having a family. Wade is hesitant at first, not having a great family growing up, he worries that he’ll be a shitty father. After some serious convincing, they adopt a little girl, Eleanor--Ellie, just before Peter’s twenty eighth birthday.

\--

Wade had thought he was broken, thought he’d never have a mate. He’d thought he was in love with Vanessa, wished she’d have been his mate, but in the end he was glad fate decided to fuck him over and make him wait.

He wouldn’t trade anything for Peter or Ellie.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it all the way through, thank you. I hope you had a good time. Leave me some feedback, if you'd like.  
> Come check me out on [Tumblr](https://laynavile.tumblr.com/)


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